(a) whether the Government has conducted any survey about the colleges in the State of Gujarat and rest of the country offering vocational courses;
(b) if so, the details and the outcome thereof, State-wise; and
(c) the action taken by the Government to offer more vocational courses in colleges in the country including Gujarat?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
( SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI )
(a) to (e): No specific survey of the colleges offering vocational courses has been conducted. However, All India Survey on Higher Education is being conducted annually to assess the situation of higher education in the country.
The Government has taken various initiatives for skills in higher education in the country including Gujarat under National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) through All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grant Commission (UGC) which, inter-alia, include:
(i) AICTE has identified 14 sectors and 76 specializations under NSQF. It has notified an Approval Process Handbook for conducting programs under National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF)/NSQF and community colleges courses. The Skill Knowledge Providers (SKPs) would be imparting the Skill component of NSQF. Letter of registration has been issued to 79 SKPs and 376 Institutes in various sectors. All AICTE approved institutes have been mandated to start minimum one NSQF course with 100 students. So far, 107 polytechnics have been approved for conducting Community college and 72 polytechnics have been funded for running this course.
(ii) UGC has also approved 157 colleges and Universities for running the community college. It has also approved 127 Bachelor in Vocational (B. Voc) Studies in 80 different trades. Approval has also been given for setting up 100 KAUSHAL Centres for pursuing specialized skills leading to PG and Ph.D programmes.
Besides, Prime Minister Kaushal Vikash Yojna (PMKVY) has recently been started in Technical Institutions through AICTE utilizing existing infrastructure of AICTE approved engineering colleges and polytechnics with a target to train 10 lakh students in three years.
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