NEP 2020 a game changer; Need to integrate higher education and vocational training: Vice Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education

Jul 14, 2021

HYDERABAD, 14 July 2021: Prof V Venkata Ramana, Vice Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) today said that the new educational policy (NEP 2020) is a game changer, and it is closely associated with the education ecosystem to adapt the new changes and bringing in reforms.

Addressing the webinar 'Reimagining Youth Skills - Post Covid-19:  A perspective from key stakeholders', organized by FICCI Telangana State Council, jointly with Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK), Prof Ramana further said that there is a need to integrate higher education and vocational training. "The present curriculum is quite outdated and faculty skills need to be upgraded," he added.

He stated that higher education is island of excellence in India as we have renowned institutions like the NITs, IITs and other universities. "Communication skills are pre-requisite for upskilling of the youth," he noted.

Mr Sudhakar Rao, Chair, Education Committee, FICCI Telangana and Director- Branding, ICFAI Group emphasised on the need for a fundamental shift in assessing skills as per the industrial requirements.  He further noted that by providing quality vocational training, we could quickly leverage the India's demographic dividend.

Mr Srikanth Sinha, CEO, TASK while speaking on the 'future skills and skilling paradigms said that healthcare is emerging as one of the growing sectors in India. Skill, Re-skill and upskill are the mantra of present requirement. Quick adoptability of technology is key driver in upscaling the skills and skills in hiring process is fast emerging with a lot of emphasis on digital evolution.  He further said that we need to explore emerging trends and opportunities. The need of the hour is how do you skill people so that they become employable and further urged for more collaboration between the industry and vocational training providers.

Dr Srinivasa Rao, CEO, Apollo Medskills while speaking on the future of skill development in healthcare sector mentioned that technology is the key driver in driving the heath care sector with an element of human interface. He further stated that there are immense opportunities in healthcare jobs and medical coders which are emerging in India.

Mr Vikas Singh, Co-Founder, CRUX Management said that our educational syllabus is outdated and not in sync with industry requirements. He further said the Indian youth consider job as prestige and societal value and prefer for white colour jobs. On MSME front, the ability to offer employment by micro and small enterprises is only 10 - 15% and works in unorganised sector.