TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Community College Scheme was launched Tuesday at the Department of Technical Education, Porvorim. This scheme is funded by Ministry of Human Recourses Department (MHRD) in association with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The Government Polytechnic, Panjim (GPP) is one among the 100 technical institutes selected nationwide to implement the scheme.
The Principal of Polytechnic, Luis Fernandes has been appointed as the nodal officer to implement the scheme. On a pilot basis two departments of GPP have identified two sectors ~construction and building technology from the civil department, headed by Rajendra Hegde and refrigeration and air conditioning from the mechanical department which is headed by Sunil Shetye.
Fifty students will be selected every year from civil and mechanical departments to undergo the sector training locally. The structure of National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) which integrates formal vocational education and the job market will be utilized in designing a modular course curriculum to run these training programmes.
“Many from the age group of 18 to 23 should have been enrolled and educated in schools. But a nationwide survey shows that only 13 per cent are enrolled. The main reason is the system is not helping find good jobs, while some don’t even get jobs. The other reason for this is the expanding population.
Employers look for skills and our students passing out have very few skills, and very little ability to deliver, which is not fulfilling the criteria of the employer, hence finding jobs become difficult,” says Vivek Kamat, Director of Technical Education.
India is a young country with half the population below the age of 30. According to the labour report India’s labour force stood at 47 crore 2006 and touched 65 crore in 2013. It is expected to go up by 300 million by 2025. 25 per cent of the labour force in the world will be from India.
“Everyone wants a white collared job, not a blue collar one. Nobody wants to be a carpenter or a farmer. To improve this mechanised equipment has been introduced. The carpenter or the farmer will not have to depend on the chisel or a sickle. Motorised equipment will help him achieve all the skills,” said KP Issac, Member Secretary AICTE. Dropouts too should be given a chance to study, improve and learn skills, he said.
The scheme will provide students with multilevel entry system to enable them to seek employment after classes X and XII formal education. Students will get training with the help of academic staff and skilled knowledge providers from the industries.
The two sectors are chosen in order to cater to skilled manpower requirements of Goa’s private, government, tourism and hotel industries.
“India has the best human and intelligent resource. We need to improve on our skills as we have infinite amount of knowledge at our figure tips and learning is an endless process. Our education system has to upgrade to international standards. Students should have perseverance and should make an effort,” Deputy CM, Francisco D’Souza said.
