Government has proposed creating the National Council for Vocational Education & Training, along with skills universities, which will offer degrees like master and bachelor of skills. The government's suggestion comes in order to give a push to the skilling ecosystem.
The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry has formed the guidelines on creating skills universities in India in the public domain. The ministry has also sought comments on the same within 15 days.
As per the draft norms, the universities will have specialized skill training labs, studios, and centers of excellence that will be developed in collaboration with industry. The ministry also suggested installing a counseling cell in the university to assess the aptitude of students prior to their enrolment in a skill-based programme.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, "Presently, skill-based courses are being offered under degrees of varying names. There is a need to have uniformity in nomenclature to differentiate between the conventional technical courses and the skill development degree level courses. In view of this, Bachelor of Skills (B. Skills) or Bachelor of Vocation (B. Voc) shall be used instead of all the other nomenclature being used for such bachelor level programmes in the country."
The National Council for Vocational Education & Training's major function will be to formulate norms and standards for Skills Universities.
"Grant of recognition as a 'University' falls under the domain of the UGC, and thus any institution seeking such recognition has to follow the applicable provisions of the UGC Act, 1956," the ministry added.
