The new National Education Policy (NEP) gives more freedom of choice for skill development to the students of vocational courses with its multidisciplinary approach and gives due weightage to all types of skills, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) chairman Anil D. Sahasrabudhe said here on Saturday.
Prof. Sahasrabudhe said all universities in the country should raise their academic level and strive for excellence in the true spirit of NEP. “Technical and vocational institutions, by their very nature, can make dedicated efforts for fostering skill development in the country,” he said while addressing the first convocation ceremony of Bhartiya Skill Development University (BSDU).
Degrees of bachelor and master of vocational studies as well as doctorate were awarded to 236 students of BSDU on the occasion. A reference was made to the NEP’s emphasis on the integration of vocational education into all school and higher education institutions with the identification of focus areas based on skills gap analysis and mapping of local opportunities.
BSDU president Achintya Choudhury said the university’s students had excelled and performed brilliantly in the national skills competitions held in Bengaluru and New Delhi recently. The BSDU follows the model of education based on the Swiss Dual System of training companies and vocational trade schools.
The speakers at the convocation highlighted the significance of innovations by the vocational institutions in order to find new models and practices and extend the reach of vocational education. The higher education institutions are also adopting different models and setting up incubation centres in partnership with industries to provide more opportunities to their students.
