Maharashtra Government Signs MoU with TISS to Offer B.Voc Course to Government School Students

New Delhi: Maharashtra School Education Department has joined hands with the School of Vocational Education (SVE) of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to provide Bachelor of Vocational (B.Voc.) courses to government school students.

Under this collaboration, the education department will provide over 15,000 students from government schools the opportunity to get vocational degrees. This initiative is a part of the government's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the course will be offered by SVE of TISS.

Talking about the B.Voc Program, the education department officials stated that with this step, the government aims to encourage students who mostly prefer arts, commerce and science degrees to pursue their career in B.Voc, which is one of the most job-oriented programs.

The officials said, "Awareness about these will be created at the secondary school level, as students will be eligible for these courses after passing Class XII. Students tend to join skill training after Class 10. The B.Voc. courses are designed to give them better job opportunities".

“Our vision is for 25 per cent of Class XII students to opt for vocational education by 2025,” said the official. “These courses can run anywhere as long as a batch of the required number of students is formed in one location where an industry player is ready to collaborate", he added.

Adding to the statement, Professor Prof Madhushree Sekher, SVE Dean at TISS, shared that the as of now, TISS offers over 30 different types of B.Voc courses in various sectors such as agriculture, banking and finance, and tourism and hospitality among others.

The TISS BVoc courses are offered to students as a part of collaborations with industry partners. The course curriculum covers 60 percent of practical training components. These courses are highly job oriented and help students with their college fees.

Prof Sekher said, “B.Voc degrees are available in different institutes but students don’t aspire to pursue them, as they are not widely recognised or mentioned as an eligibility criterion to apply for any kind of job. This will educate them about the benefits of pursuing a B.Voc. degree”.

In addition to this effort, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is also preparing to bring an aspirational value to B.Voc. degrees. The government has started planning and sharing their ideas regarding the same with the higher education department.

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