Foreword

The rising unemployment despite high growth in non-farm sector in India is causing concern to
every one. The growth in Agriculture which provides livelihood to about 50 per cent of the work
force in India and 66 percent in Rajasthan is tardy. A very sizeable number has to be moved away
from agriculture for the remaining persons to earn well. Due to continuing high growth rate of
population, annual addition to the work force is over 10 million a year. In Rajasthan, about 8
lakhs livelihoods are needed annually for over the next decade to deal with the problem.
Realizing the enormity and urgency of the task of livelihood promotion, the State Government set
up Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods in 2004.

In order to understand various facets of livelihood issues across segments, sectors and spatial
regions, RMoL has undertaken 25 rapid assessment studies, held 25 consultations and initiated 4
pilot projects involving stake holders, academics, researchers, Government functionaries and civil
society organizations. The booklets being published now including the present one contain our
learning about complexities of livelihoods in a summarized manner, derived from the field
studies and consultations. These illuminate various facets of livelihoods in the State and would be
helpful in proper understanding of the issue and in developing proper perspective in this regard. I
do hope that all those who are concerned with the problems of livelihoods, particularly the
livelihoods of the poor, unemployed and the under privileged would find these booklets very
useful. Both the content and the views expressed therein represent summation of views expressed
by many persons and we would like to thanks all those who made it possible for us to bring out
these booklets including the State Government, UNDP and BASIX. My colleagues at the RMoL
worked tirelessly for holding consultations and undertaking field studies. Appreciation is due to
them as well.

M.L. Mehta
Deputy Chairman
RMoL

RMoL-BASIX
 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN
RAJASTHAN

A Study on Skill Development in Rajasthan

&

Proceedings of the Workshop

On

Problems and Perspective of Vocational Education in

Rajasthan

BY

BASIX

RMoL-BASIX 2
Abstract

To contribute to the economic growth of any region, the labor force must have the necessary education
and training. Vocational education and training is an important source for this. However, the VET
infrastructure in the country is abysmally poor. Only about 10% of the available manpower is trained
and this compares poorly with most nations. The situation in the state of Rajasthan is even poorer and
needs to be improved significantly.
This paper studies the present situation in the state, identifies the issues and challenges and makes
some suggestions. The main suggestions are summarized below.
The state of Rajasthan should develop a policy for Vocational Education and Training so that
development in this area can take place in future within the overarching framework of the proposed
Policy. In view of the plethora of agencies and programs for VET resulting in duplication of effort and
an uncoordinated approach, there is a dire need to set up a coordination authority. One of the main
jobs of this authority will be to bring about greater consistency and cohesion among many players by
establishing a Qualifications Framework. Testing and certification also needs to be got done by this
authority.
At present, Vocational Education and Training imparted in the State does not have any industry
linkage. At an institutional level, involving employers should be a key management objective. Involving
employers in managing institutions would only yield results provided institutions have more autonomy
and are more accountable for their performance. However, autonomy is not a panacea. Experience
shows that institutional autonomy can be fraught with problems unless it is carefully planned and is
accompanied by a new accountability framework for ITIs, development of appropriate management
capacity, new accounting systems and training for board members.
The facilities for vocation education and training at the level of ITIs & Polytechnics are quite
inadequate in Rajasthan. They need to be expanded by opening more institutes, running double shifts in
ITIs, starting short terms skill development programs, etc. It would also be advisable to set up at every
divisional headquarter, a model or lead VET
Since vocational training would help in generation of livelihoods, the State Government should
substantially enhance fund support for vocational training. Many international agencies should be
interested in funding vocational education and training, possibilities of which should also be explored.
At the same time, there is a need for students and the private sector to bear some of the costs of
training. Additionally, institutions should also be given greater latitude to generate resources and use
the proceeds for operating costs. Irrespective of the source or volume of funds, a better method for
allocating them is needed. A Training Fund could be an important vehicle for doing this. Even if a
Training Fund is not established some of the principles behind its operation should still apply to the
allocation of funds. Instead of transferring resources to institutions on an ad hoc basis, public
resources could be transferred on the basis of input or output criteria. A key element for resource
allocation that should be built in over time should be competition for funds.
Most of the recommendations made above are applicable even in case of non formal VET and should
be implemented for them also. However, since the needs of the informal sector operators are diverse by
virtue of their having to be prepared for self employment where they must perform a variety of
functions — initial market surveys, cost and quality control, financing, marketing, etc, the training
programmes for them must include these generic skills.

RMoL-BASIX 3
1. Background and Scope of Study

Despite the fact that India is a fast developing economy, far more needs have to be considered
to engender more employment opportunities for the majority of Indians and enable them to participate
in the benefits of growth and to contribute to that growth. To do this they must have required education
and training that equips them for the labor market. One of the sources of the skilled workforce is the
vocational education and training system. However, the system is not being able to appropriately
respond to the needs of the labor market. This is especially true for a state like Rajasthan, which has a
large workforce percentage but having less output. As against a national growth rate of about 8-9%, that
of Rajasthan is only 4-6%. A key issue, then, is what reforms/interventions are needed to improve the
effectiveness of the system. Answering that question is far from easy and this paper attempts to provide
some options to the Rajasthan Government for doing so.
2. Methodology
The paper is based on a detailed research done by RMoL through a team of experts on the field.
The research is based on the following –
 Collection and study of available literature and secondary data from Government Departments
and the web
 Interviews with key government functionaries and other stakeholders
 Study of vacancies in two leading newspapers of Rajasthan ( Annexure I)
 Impact assessment of training programmes given to youths under different Government
Schemes in six districts in Rajasthan (Annexure II)
 Conducting a workshop in which leading academicians, practitioners, stakeholders, government
functionaries, were invited (Annexure III)
3. Skill Development in India – An Overview
Skill development through Vocational Education and Training system is though well
established but inadequate to meet the country’s manpower needs. The Ministry of Human Resource
Development (MHRD) and the Ministry of Labour are the two key Ministries, overseeing the
implementation through counterpart departments in the state Governments. Vocational education in
India refers specifically to vocational courses offered in school Grades 11 and 12 under a centrally
sponsored scheme termed ‘Vocationalization of Secondary Education’ of the Ministry of Human
Resources Development (MHRD).
The intake capacity of all the Institutes under these two Ministries is about 1.5 million students
per year as against 15 million students available for general and VET in the country.
The formal VET programmes are mostly suffering from many deficiencies; (a) inflexibility in
offering of courses (b) inflexibility in examinations conducted by the Boards (c) mismatch in market
demand and availability of programmes (d) absence of practical and hands on training due to academic
orientation in teaching. Budget scarcity for purchase of consumables needed for training also affects
learning, (e) delay in decision in dropping obsolete programmes, (f) appointment of desired
faculty/trainers (i) lack of industry institution linkages and (j) high degree of centralization of decision
making authority.
The non-formal VET programmes are generally suffering from (a) lack of infrastructure, both
human and material, (b) lack of quality standards in terms of skills and products, (c) lack of equivalence
with formal education and training programmes, and (d) absence of a system of accredited certification,
needed for career mobility.
According to the Planning Commission, Government of India, only 7% of the working
population is engaged in organized sector and remaining 93% work in unorganized sector of the

RMoL-BASIX 4
economy. The people working in unorganized sector have no access to formal skill training. In other
words, there is an absence of formal learning/training for the people working in traditional skill areas.

While there are no formal programs of training for the informal sector, a number of institutions
are involved in providing training, which is geared to the needs of informal sector employees. Some of
the key ones are listed below.
 Community Polytechnics, established as entities within polytechnics rather than as autonomous
institutions.
 Jan Shikshan Sansthans, managed by NGOs, offering more than 250 types of vocational
courses ranging from candle and agarbatti making, sewing and embroidery to computer courses
to almost 1.5 million people annually
 Khadi and Village Industries Commission at the national level and the Khadi and village
Industries Boards at the state level
 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)
 Ministry of Rural Development through CAPART and NGOs under schemes like TRYSEM
and Swaran Jayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana
 Ministry of Small Scale Industries through the Prime Ministers Rojgar Yojana
 Some of the other major initiatives in training for skill development have been taken by Rural
Development for Self-employment Training Institutions (RUDSETI) jointly promoted by Sri
Dharamsthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust, Ujire, Dakshin Kannada District
Karnataka, Syndicate bank and Karnataka bank, since 1982
 Vocational Training for Employment Generation (VoTEG) by Department of Science and
Technology (DST), New Delhi, since January 2000
 Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF), Bangalore, since 1959
 The George Telegraph Training institute (GTTI), Kolkata, since 1920
 Community Colleges established by Madras Centre for Research and Development of
Community Education (MCRDCE), Chennai, since 1995
 Livelihood Advancement Business School (LABS) promoted by Dr. Reddy’s Foundation since
1996
 Maharastra Knowledge Corporation Ltd (MKCL, Mumbai), since 2001
 Aide et Action, Chennai and
 Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods (RMoL) since 2005
These initiatives have helped in preparing skilled manpower for un-organized as well as
organized sectors. Each of these initiatives have some constrains/ demerits as well as some benefits and
positive features.

4. Skill Development in Rajasthan:

4.1 The VET infrastructure
Prior to 1998, there was a vocational education stream in schools in Rajasthan. In 1998, since
the quality of vocational education imparted was very low and majority of students from this stream
preferred to opt for general university education after completion of their studies, the State Government
discontinued the vocational stream in school education.
Rajasthan State is offering VET programmes through 21 polytechnics 168 ITIs /ITCs and
admitting about 17000 students, which are just 2.9% of the available students. It is worth noting that
RMoL-BASIX 5
in Rajasthan about 7 lakhs youths are entering in to the job market every year and majority of them
have no skills or competencies to perform in the given job. There is a mismatch between the skills
needed by the market and skill possessed by those entering the livelihood markets.
Under the Apprentices Act 1961, a Central Act designed to provide on-the-job training in skills,
the State Government has notified 6448 seats in about 750 industries. Out of these only about 2000
persons are presently engaged by the industry which makes for about 35% utilization.
The Government has also set up the Indian Institute of Craft & Design (IICD) in 1996 and
Entrepreneurship and Management Development Institute (1996) to provide skills in craft design and
entrepreneurship. Rural Non-farm Development Agency (RUDA) was set up in 1996 to provide
support to artisans for earning livelihoods. Despite innovative organization & work design of these
agencies, they are hamstrung due to scarcity of funds and inadequate qualified staff. A good beginning
has been made by the Government in involving the private sector by striking a partnership with M/s
Gujarat Ambuja Cement to run IICD. A similar proposal is under consideration of the State
Government with regard to EMI. The Department of Technical Education has four Production Centers
at Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota & Jaipur, which have good infrastructure for training but are almost defunct.
In addition to the above, vocational/skill training is also imparted by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras
(KVKs), whose number is 32 in the state, Small Industries Services Institute (SISI), Khadi and Village
Industries Commission (KVIC) Institutions and Non-government Organizations (NGOs).

4.2 Recent initiatives by RMoL:

In order to respond to various constraints in vocational education, the Rajasthan Mission on
Livelihood (RMoL) undertook the following strategies. Some of the recent initiatives taken by the State
Government and the Rajasthan Mission on Livelihood (RMoL) are given below.
4.2.1 Setting up of RUDSETI type institutions
The Chief Minister, Rajasthan took an initiative and invited nationalized banks having lead
bank role to set up institutes for self-employment training in their lead districts. It has evoked good
initial response. In the next few months such institutes would become operational in the following
districts:
 Hanumangarh (started) and Jaipur (Chomu) by the Oriental Bank of Commerce.
 Jaipur (existing) Ajmer (started) Bhilwara & Banswara by the Bank of Baroda.
 Udaipur & Barmer (for Barmer and Jaisalmer) by Bank of Rajasthan.
 Kota (for Kota and Bundi) by Central Bank of India
 Jaipur (Existing) and Baran by Dharmasthala Trust
 Jodhpur by UCO Bank
 Alwar (Neemrana), Jhalawar & Bharatpur by Punjab National Bank
 Pali by SBBJ
4.2.2 Strengthening of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)
The Government has sanctioned funds amounting to Rs. 3.72 Crores for creation of
infrastructure for vocational training in Krishi Vigyan Kendras in 25 districts run by the two State
Agriculture Universities.
4.2.3 Enhancing Output of the Existing VET Institutions/Organizations

RMoL-BASIX 6
 The RMoL has sanctioned adequate number of skill training programmes to ITIs, ITCs, KVKs
and Engineering Colleges so that their infrastructure in terms of equipment and manpower is optimally
utilized.
4.2.4 Impact Assessment of Training Programmes Undertaken by the Youths under Government
Schemes in Rajasthan:
Skill Development Training Programme have been organized by the Government and Non-
Government agencies under various schemes/projects like PMRY, DPIP, KVIC, SGSY, TADA, etc. In
order to draw appropriate lessons from conduct of such programmes, a rapid appraisal of the quality,
conduct and impact of such programmes was undertaken by RMoL in the districts of Churu, Bikaner,
Dausa, Tonk, Jaipur and Udaipur
4.2.5 Skill Training Programmes Organized by Number of Agencies / Organizations/Institutions
under RMoL
Before launching skill development programmes, the Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods
(RMoL) selected Entrepreneurship and Management Development Institute (EMI), Jaipur as the Nodal
Agency for organizing and overseeing the implementation of Skill Development Programmes. EMI
wrote to a number of agencies involved in organization of vocational education and training
programmes at the national as well as state levels for supplying of courses/modules. Based on the
materials received and discussions held with a number of concerned agencies, a list of 30 short term
skill training courses was prepared. The RMoL in consultation with EMI worked out the cost of each
skill training programme and transferred a lump sum amount to EMI for organizing the programmes by
herself and for releasing funds to other organizations selected for the conduct of skill training
programmes.
In the first phase EMI conducted two programmes wherein 31 youths were trained. EMI
developed a guideline document comprising of application form for the trainees; format for banner,
certificate and utilization certificates; format for submission of report including the tool kit account;
format for submission of details about the fee to be collected; format for providing details about the
trainees and trainers and a feedback Performa. The list of courses was also updated to include 60
courses. EMI sent letters to a number of agencies to invite proposals for organizing skill training
programmes. More than 50 proposals were received, of which 39 were approved by the RMoL. These
agencies viz., KVKs, ITCs and NGOs organized 57 programmes during 2005-06 and trained 1355
youths in the age group of 18-35. During the conduct of the programmes, the RMoL and EMI
consultants/officials visited some of the organizations and assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the
programmes. The emphasis in these training programmes is on hands-on training and on competency
development.
The RMoL organized one inception workshop and three industry workshops during the last five
months in which a note on skill development and another note on vocational education and training
were circulated as discussion papers for assessing skill needs of various industries in the state. EMI also
conducted a study to identify the potential skill areas for which the vacancies were advertised in the
daily news papers. The list of courses was further updated to 92 courses and the courses were grouped
in 12 different economic sectors, based on the industry workshops and newspaper study.
Based on the visits, studies and feedback received, the RMoL enhanced the duration of training
programmes from 30 working days (4-5 hours per day) to 36 working days(7 hours per day), revised
funding pattern and allowed organization of residential and non residential programmes. The RMoL
also reduced the number of trainees from 30 to 20 in each training programme. All these steps were
taken up to enhance the quality of the skill training programmes.
In addition to the above the RMoL has also taken number of steps to improve the quality of
programmes. These include (i) Capacity building of training managers/providers (ii) inclusion of
Entrepreneurship module in the curriculum and (iii) supply of tool kits.

RMoL-BASIX 7
 During the first phase of the financial year 2006-07, the RMoL received proposals from
organization for 407 courses, of which it approved 91 courses only. In the second phase it approved 83
skill training programmes. The RMoL has organized two capacity building programmes in
collaboration with Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur and Rajasthan
Agricultural University, Bikaner for training managers/coordinators of KVKs, ITIs, ITCs, and NGOs of
the first phase of selected institutions. In these programmes it has also invited potential training
providers. The Mission is holding discussions with National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), New
Delhi for evaluation and certification of RMoL skill training programmes and with Nattur Technical
Training Foundation (NTTF), Bangalore for establishing a Vocational Education and Training Institute
in Rajasthan, most likely at Bhiwadi, District Alwar.
In the financial year 2006-07, the RMoL approved 164 organizations for conducting skill
training programmes. It sanctioned 282 courses and trained approximately 5660 youths. The Mission is
also working for standardizing the design and content of the courses, developing an instructional
module and a video for each course. It has made allocations for these jobs.
In addition to the above, the Mission assisted the Rajasthan Shiksha Mission by preparing a
Report on Vocational Education and Training. This was done through an Advisory Group chaired by
Sh. ML Mehta, Ex Chief Secretary, Rajasthan and Dy. Chairman, RMoL. Many useful suggestions
relating to policy framework, strengthening and reforming the existing VET system, expanding the
VET infrastructure, financing, involving the private sector, etc were made by the Mission.

5. Findings, Issues and challenges

It is construed from the above discussion that the management of the system is fragmented, with
the involvement of so many agencies and government departments. This results in diverse
accountability and makes the delivery of training complex. Further, there is also little coordination
between ministries and departments. This leads to a duplication of effort with many courses offered
under vocational education and vocational training purporting to provide similar skills. Making the
system accountable to more than one government agency can result in training that is isolated from
market forces. Furthermore, different agencies seem to place great deal of emphasis on simply
delivering training rather than on policy guidance and ensuring quality standards.
5.1 Lack Formal VET
A comparison with southern States on the basis of information contained in the table below
shows that the facilities for Vocation Education and Training at the level of ITIs & Polytechnics are
quite inadequate in Rajasthan. Both the number and intake capacity of students in ITIs & Polytechnics
in Rajasthan is quite low as compared to that existing in States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh. This has reduced employability and income of youth from the State.
State ITIs Polytechnics +2 Vocational Institutes
Number Intake Number Intake Number Intake
capacity capacity capacity
Rajasthan 169* 15272* 23* 2540* - -
Tamil 671 81388 213 45394 700 107000
Nadu
Karnataka 507 46092 199 28640 564 71350
Kerala 533 57505 52 8430 363 50400
Andhra 569 109017 92 16175 668 94000
Pradesh
Source: Annual Progress Report (2004-2005), Department of Technical Education, Government of Rajasthan
5.2 There is uneven spread of these institutions in the state. There are districts where there is not
even a single polytechnic even after 60 years of Independence. Likewise, there are about 100 blocks
that do not have any ITI. Access to technical education in the State is therefore highly skewed.

RMoL-BASIX 8
5.3 Despite high levels of unemployment, employers still experience problems finding employees
with the right skills. In many cases, these shortages are in trades that were supplied by the ITIs/ITCs –
implying that their graduates do not suit employers’ needs. Most employers feel that ITI graduates did
not perform well enough in the use of computers, practical use of machines, communications and team
work. Employers feel that ITIs produce graduates who are not needed by industry and who lack basic
scientific/technical understanding of their trades. Rapid developments in technology have made many
occupations and trades - such as turners, machinists and grinders, and draftsmen - obsolete, while others
need to be modified.
5.4 The training content and methodology needs to be overhauled. Many trades have lost their
relevance in the face of automation. Engineering trades (fitting, electronics, electrical and mechanical,
welding, tool and die-making, and turning) are in high demand from students but syllabi are out-dated
and trainers are out of touch with changes in technology and work organization. Courses should not be
based on narrow specializations. Technicians need to be trained through integrated courses dealing with
two or more skills and be capable of managing three or four operations at a time. Employers also feel
that apart from the lack of appropriate technical skills, the labour force lacks “soft” skills –such as
teamwork, innovativeness. Another need of the industry is significant on-the-job training to bring their
skill levels to match the needs of the industry.
5.5 The regulatory regime governing institutions inhibits any kind of autonomy, innovation and
responsiveness to demand, and needs to be reformed substantially. Public institutions have few
incentives to improve their performance. ITI managers have little freedom to fill student places to
capacity, replace training courses with new ones, and ensure that students receive quality training. Most
courses are in basic industrial trades and there is a perceived reluctance among state directorates and
institutions to offer courses in more marketable service sector trades. The main problem is the way
institutions are governed. ITIs are part of the government – teachers and trainers are civil servants and
resources are part of government budget – which is an obstacle to improving performance.
5.6 A serious problem with these institutions is finances. The committed expenditure on salaries
itself accounts for about 90% of the budget of these training institutes. This situation does not permit
these institutions to start new courses for meeting market demand or to take measures for improving
quality of education through innovation and experimentation.
5.7 The quality of teachers appears to be poor. The need is for well trained teachers who have the
necessary experience of working in an industry, who is aware with the latest techniques and also has
practical knowledge of the shop floor environment. Staff vacancies are very large and have existed for a
long time due to ban on recruitment. This has seriously impaired quality of teaching and even
jeopardized student’s careers. At the same time, finding good teachers will always remain a problem
with most of them preferring to be in the industry rather than in training institutes.
5.8 It is hard to detect the hand of industry in the vocational training system. ITIs should have
close links and regularly consult employers. However, there is limited participation in defining training
policies and developing courses. Industrial associations that integrate small and micro-enterprises in the
informal sector were not consulted or invited to be partners in the system. Curricula are supposedly
determined by employer representatives but poor employment outcomes suggest that this has not been
effective. This is changing to some extent now, and industry associations and individual employers are
showing considerable interest in involving themselves in developing and managing systems, especially
ITIs. This is demonstrated by the active participation of employers belonging to the two largest
industrial associations in India - the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) – in the management committees of it is.
5.9 There also seems to be a lack of employer interest in the apprenticeship system. Regulations
require public and private sector employers in designated industries to engage apprentices according to
set ratios of apprentices to workers for prescribed trades. Places for apprentices are found and registered
by Apprenticeship Advisers on the basis of the ratios and available training facilities. Despite the

RMoL-BASIX 9
legislation, only 1,900 private establishments were registered for the Apprenticeship Scheme in 2001;
compared to some 16,000 other establishments, essentially government agencies and enterprises. This
lack of private sector interest compares to the 250,000 establishments covered by the Employee
Provident Fund. Even in the state of Rajasthan, as against over 10000 factories registered under the
Factories Act, only 750 are registered under the Apprenticeship Act.
6. Non Formal VET
6.1 While a majority of the labor force is employed in the informal sector, the current programs
are quite inadequate to meet the training needs of the large workforce in the informal sector.
Many workers in the unorganized economy have never been to school let alone to vocational training
institutions. The formal training system, because of its entry requirements and geographical mapping, is
not designed to offer skills to low-educated people and particularly not to those in the rural non-farm
sector. But neither are there other providers to fill the gap. Most workers continue to learn trades on the
job through informal apprenticeships at their place of work from other low-skilled craft people.
6.2 The training needs of informal sector operators are diverse. What distinguishes the sector from
formal wage employment is the breadth of tasks that need to be performed. Self-employed workers in
the informal sector usually need to complete specific jobs by themselves, from beginning to end. They
must perform a variety of functions—initial market surveys, cost and quality control, financing, and
marketing. Technical and business skills are critical in enhancing productivity and quality of goods and
services produced. Improving skills will strengthen the ability to compete. Technical skills and other
types of support (access to credit, technology, markets, and information) are imperative.
The non-formal VET programmes given above are suffering from
 lack of infrastructure, both human and material
 lack of quality standards in terms of skills and products
 lack of equivalence with formal education and training programmes
 absence of a system of accredited certification, needed for career mobility
 poor quality of training and instructors

7. Suggestions:
What is the appropriate role of the public sector in training is an important issue. Finding the
right role for the public sector in training remains a critical issue. The fact that the state government has
an interest in removing skill bottlenecks does not mean that it should do so solely by providing training.
State-sponsored provision of training may be used to address equity issues or address market failures
(e.g. provision of training for the informal sector), but it may not be necessary in an environment where
private capacity exists. Hence it is important to find the appropriate balance between government and
non-government provision and financing of skills. However, there are many things that the non-
government sector cannot do and hence the role of the government enhances.
For improving vocational education and training in the State, the Mission makes the following
recommendations:-
7.1 Policy Framework:
The State should develop a Policy for Vocational Education and Training so that development
in this area can take place in future within the overarching framework of the proposed Policy.
7.2 State Vocational Education and Training Council:
The State should set up a State Vocational Education and Training Council as an independent
coordinating authority for vocational training. It should play a central role in coordinating and
overseeing the VET system as an independent Coordination Authority. Its role should include not only
RMoL-BASIX 10
standards setting and accreditation but also coordination of the overall training system in financing
training, curriculum development, supervising skills testing, certification and accreditation, and
provision of information on the quality and effectiveness of institutions. Critical to the success of these
bodies is the role of employers – unless employers are given sufficient role in the decision making
process, training may not be adjusted sufficiently to meet the needs of employers.
7.3 Qualifications framework and certification:
A further development designed to bring about greater consistency and cohesion among the
many players is to establish a Qualifications Framework. It must be based on specified standards of
training, leading eventually to the development of industry-relevant modular courses. The standards
must depend on industry involvement – standards cannot be developed solely in-house by curriculum
development units. This will provide a framework for accreditation/certification agencies.
Absence of testing and certification system affects quality of training and employability of
trainees. State VET Council when formed or the National institute of Open Schooling should introduce
such a certification system. They could also hold examinations for issue of certificates for appropriate
level of skills to those practicing these skills in the market.
7.4 Institutional level reforms:
7.4.1 Public Private Partnership
At present, Vocational Education and Training imparted in the State does not have any industry
linkage. Advisory Committees formed earlier have not been effective. At an institutional level,
involving employers should be a key management objective. The industry-institute collaboration can be
in the following areas.
 Taking over of ITIs by the industry or by the District Industries Association
 Industrial units undertaking the task of monitoring and providing practical training to
students of Vocational Education and Training Institutions
 VET Institutes undertaking design or process improvement and equipment repair work for
the industry on a charge
 Introduction of new trades/courses/modules or changes in the course curricula should be
done with the advice of local industry association
 Use of technical and management personnel of the industry as visiting/teaching faculty by
the VET Institutions
 Adoption of ITIs by local industry.
6.4.2 Enhancing autonomy at the institutional level
Involving employers in managing institutions would only yield results provided institutions
have more autonomy and are more accountable for their performance. This means letting institutions
administer themselves and keeping the funds they raise through fees and production, thus forcing them
to find their own markets. This breaks the long decision-making circuits in centralized systems that
militate against realistic timetables when trying to react to the labor market developments.
Relationships between training centers and enterprises are easier to promote at the local level. Elements
of autonomy that should be introduced include:
 Letting ITIs, in consultation with employers, decide on their own training programs; in fact, the
trades in which training is to be imparted and their course curricula need to be revised urgently.
The training must also focus on soft skills like team work, communication skills, etc and also
include on the job training.

RMoL-BASIX 11
  Giving institution managers the freedom to hire and fire teachers, including contract teachers
and non-teaching staff – this may, over time, help solve some of the problems that many ITIs
have with poorly qualified staff;
 Allowing ITIs to generate revenues by selling goods and services; and
 Allowing ITIs to set fees.
However, autonomy is not a panacea. Experience shows that institutional autonomy can be
fraught with problems unless it is carefully planned. It needs to be accompanied by a new
accountability framework for ITIs. Indicators of internal and external efficiency will have to be
developed so as to measure the performance of institutions and to match performance to financing. Any
move towards institutional autonomy should include the development of appropriate management
capacity, new accounting systems and training for board members.
6.4.3 Use of EDUSAT
EDUSAT launched by ISRO should be used for imparting quality vocational education and
training of uniform standard at various places in the State. This will to a great extent mitigate the
problem of availability of quality teachers. However, it would need development of facilities for studio,
up-linking and down linking and production of training modules. The VET Institutes could be linked-up
with this facility.
6.4.4 Setting up model VET institutes at Divisional Headquarters:
At every divisional headquarter, a model or lead VET institution needs to be set up with
facilities for residential training. These institutes should supervise VET Institutes in the districts falling
within the division.
6.4.5 Expansion and Improvement in Vocational Education and Training Facilities:
 The state government may create a department of Technical and Vocational Education and
Training by merging the sections of all the Departments involved in training to bring synergy in
delivery of quality training.
 ITIs/VET institutes should be opened in the next five years in all the blocks which do not have
any ITI/VET institutes at present. If private sector does so, then the land should be given free to
it in rural areas.
 At least one senior secondary school in every district should be converted into a Vocational
School under the management and control of the Department of Technical and Vocational
Education and Training.
 For drawing optimal benefits from existing ITIs, they should be run in two shifts. This would
need some additional staff and fund support.
 Another measure to enhance institutional infrastructure for vocational training could be by
enabling ITIs to run short-duration skill training programmes with emphasis on practical
training.
 Khadi and Gramoudhyog Board and RUDA can set up Technology Resource Centres for
imparting vocational training.
7.5 Finances
Since vocational training would help in generation of livelihoods, the State Government
should substantially enhance fund support for vocational training.
Many international agencies should be interested in funding vocational education and training,
possibilities of which should also be explored.

RMoL-BASIX 12
 At the same time, there is a need for students and the private sector to bear some of the
costs of training. Options include:
 Students: Currently students pay fees that amount to less than five percent of course costs. A
more realistic costing structure should be considered, where the students pay a lager proportion
of actual training costs. Realistic fees could, of course, shut out those who are unable to pay.
For these individuals, targeted programs like scholarships or reduced subsidized fees can be
introduced.
 Firms: Firms could be charged training levies (a certain percent of payroll contributions –
similar to the education cess) and then be reimbursed part or whole of that amount depending
on the amount of training they undertake in recognized public or private sector firms. This
would not only stimulate firms to train more, but would also have the additional benefit of
making training providers more responsive to the labor market. However, levy schemes are
difficult to design and require a high degree of administrative efficiency and transparency, so
this option needs to be carefully thought through before it is pursued in the medium-term.
Additionally, institutions should also be given greater latitude to generate resources and use the
proceeds for operating costs. Income generated from the sale of production and service activities of
trainees can constitute a useful form of additional institutional income. It is possible to produce output
for sale in the local market, and exposure to local markets may lead to more relevant, market oriented
training. Here the issue is one of maintaining a healthy balance between these two activities. As more
weight is given to instruction, the income potential from production declines; alternatively, quality of
training will suffer as emphasis is placed on production rather than instruction.
However, these options to generate addition resources can be implemented successfully only
when the external efficiency of the system improves. Students and firms will only be willing to
participate in the financing of a system that shows demonstrable impacts in terms of efficiency and
outcomes. Hence, the first step may involve paying greater emphasis to reforms aimed at enhancing the
management of the system and removing impediments for the private sector participation in training.
Irrespective of the source or volume of funds, a better method for allocating them is needed. A
Training Fund could be an important vehicle for doing this. A Fund unifies and augments public
funding and allocates resources in line with national policies and priorities. Its main purpose is to move
systems from supply-driven to demand-driven models – for that reason it should include even
government contributions. Institutions are not given funds but are required to apply for them, ideally in
a competitive field. The fund is best managed by the sort of national training coordination agency
discussed earlier.
Even if a Training Fund is not established some of the principles behind its operation should
still apply to the allocation of funds. Instead of transferring resources to institutions on an ad hoc basis,
public resources could be transferred on the basis of input or output criteria. Institutions could be
financed according to the estimated cost of inputs; for example by using norms such as the number of
trainees enrolled or number of classes. An alternative may be to fund, institutions based on outputs or
outcomes. Output targets can be defined in absolute terms (e.g. number of course completions, pass
rates on examinations) or in relative terms (e.g. years to completion). Outcome targets measure the
success of training providers in meeting labor market needs (e.g. job placement within a reasonable
time). The key is to define transparent criteria that are easily measured but not easily manipulated.
A key element for resource allocation that should be built in over time should be competition
for funds. Competition for funds, between public and private providers, will lead to improved
institutional performance. Funding needs to be linked to some input or output based criteria and
accredited public and private providers should be able to compete for these resources. International
evidence is by and large positive in this regard – competition for resources has lead to a reduction in
costs for training among competing institutions while also leading to positive labor market outcomes.

RMoL-BASIX 13
7.6 Apprentices Act, 1961
This needs to be implemented rigorously. More industrial units should be notified and their intake of
apprentices be monitored regularly.
7.7 Non formal VET
Most of the recommendations made above are applicable even in case of non formal VET and
should be implemented. These include those relating to standards, training content, quality of
instructors, duration of training, inclusion of soft skills and on the job training in the curricula,
certification, financing, etc. A separate mention is, however, being made because of their importance
for the unorganised sector, which is often forgotten and ignored.
Since the needs of the informal sector operators are diverse by virtue of their having to be
prepared for self employment where they must perform a variety of functions — initial market surveys,
cost and quality control, financing, marketing, etc, the training programmes must include these generic
skills.

RMoL-BASIX 14
 Annexure I
Identification of Skill Development Areas
In order to identify economic sector wise, gender wise, entry qualification wise vacancies, a
study of vacancies advertised in two most popular Hindi newspapers- Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik
Bhaskar was undertaken. Newspapers from 26 th April to 2nd May, 2006 i.e., for seven days were
collected. On analysis of data with regards to different types of post advertised, definite trend was
observed with level of education or entry qualification. Number and types of posts increased in
Marketing and Sales and Office Staff sectors with increase in entry qualification. The trend was just
opposite in the case of Textile & Garment, Security Services and Engineering and Technology i.e.,
number and types of posts decreased with increase in entry qualifications. No specific trend was
observed in case of Gems & Jewellary and Health & Paramedical and IT sectors.
There were number of vacancies where less than Xth standard qualification was required. There
were 32 different types of vacancies in Security Services including Hotel & Restaurant sector, 29 types
in Textile and Garment sector, 21 types in Engineering and Technology sector, 16 types in Gems and
Jewellary, 11 types in Office Staff, 8 types in Health & Paramedical, 2 types in Marketing and Sales
and 1 type in IT sector. This means that Security Services including Hotel & Restaurant sector offers a
large variety of job opportunities followed by Textile and Garment sector.
There were vacancies where Xth pass, ITIs pass and XIIth pass was required. Maximum
numbers of vacancies were appeared for XIIth pass students. Details about the vacancies advertised are
given in the Study of Vacancies Appearing in Daily Newspapers.
Annexure II
Impact Assessment of Training Programmes Undertaken by the Youths under Government
Schemes in Rajasthan
Skill Development Training Programme have been organized by the Government and Non-
Government agencies under various schemes/projects like PMRY, DPIP, KVIC, SGSY, TADA, etc. In
order to draw appropriate lessons from conduct of such programmes, a rapid appraisal of the quality,
conduct and impact of such programmes was undertaken by RMoL in the districts of Churu, Bikaner,
Dausa, Tonk, Jaipur and Udaipur. Following organizations were entrusted with the field study:
 IFFDC for Udaipur district
 Urmul for Bikaner district
 Dhara Sansthan, Jaipur for Jaipur and Tonk districts
 Shikshit Rojgar Vikas Sansthan, Churu for Churu district
 BASIX, Jaipur for Dausa district
Field investigations and their supervisors were given one day training at Jaipur about survey objectives,
methodology, and research design before undertaking the study. The analysis of research findings
shows that:
 Selection of the training course was not proper at many places and duration was short which
impacted adversely on learning and skill development.
 Some training organization lacked experience in organization of skill training courses. No
attention was paid to the training of training organizers.
 In some cases, training programmes were not conducted in continuous manner. Unnecessary
breaks taken due to festivals, non receipts of funds and social and personal reasons, detracted
from the seriousness of training.

RMoL-BASIX 15
  Monitoring of training programmes was generally not done.
 In some training courses, teaching hours were few and the trainers’ quality also left much to
desired.
 In most of the training programmes post training support for establishing micro-enterprises was
absent.
 Tool kits were not supplied in most of the programmes.

RMoL-BASIX 16
 Additional Document
In addition to the above study, the Rajasthan Mission on Livelihoods (RMoL) organized a two
day state level workshop on the subject ‘Problems and Perspective of Vocational Education and
Training in Rajasthan’ at Jaipur. The workshop was designed to address the Problems and Perspectives
of Vocational Education and Training in the state and was planned to focus on the strategies for
expansion of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Infrastructure system in the state and its
optimum utilization and areas of policy intervention.

Details of the Proceeding:

The workshop provided a unique opportunity for interacting with experts from Technical
Institutes, Universities, Industry, Service sector, NGO’s, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and various Govt.
departments. There were papers presented covering all the dimensions of the workshop, which were
included in a booklet containing back ground paper, two resource papers and an overview of short-term
skill Training Programms sponsored by RMoL.

Inaugural session:
The Chief Guest, Professor Ashok Chandra lit the lamp and inaugurated the session. Shri M.L.
Mehta, introducing the Chief Guest Prof. Ashok Chandra, dwelt on the multifaceted personality of the
latter, enumerating the positions held by him and the various capacities in which Prof. Chandra had
been associated with different institutions of repute, thus introducing the audience to the pioneering role
played by Prof. Chandra.
Sh. M.L. Mehta sharing the objectives of the workshop with the participants, critically and pro-
actively reviewed the government initiatives with regard to vocational education and training. He
brought under fauns the fact that despite enormous government spending on projects designed to
alleviate poverty and empower the people, not much has been done to impart vocational education and
training.
Prof. Ashok Chandra said that to empower people, the first and foremost event to take place in
our country is through employment generation coupled with skill oriented education and training.
Sh. Anand Singhal, Chairman, GIT, in his presidential address, termed the VET problems as
'big' and announced that GIT will have a VET centre in 2007, and that to spread awareness among the
masses a mobile van would be provided too.

Plenary Session
Sh. Ashutosh Singh of Aide et Action presented a profile of his organization and dwelt in detail
on the twin function of livelihood education and improvement of quality of education as undertaken by
his organization and that too at an almost no cost to be borne by the beneficiaries.
Prof. C.S. Barla set an agenda for those seeking to commit themselves to VET and brought
under focus the issues of cost, private initiative, faculty, scope for rigorous summer training, cost
recovery, etc’
Sh. O.P.N Calla setting example of Praxis, talked of the training so as to be able to reach the
last man in the line, even a for-flung hamlet. This organizational out-reach and networking with the
people was referred to in the subsequent interaction session .
The Chairman of the session, Prof. S.L. Mehta, Vice Chancellor, MPUAT, Udaipur, bemoaned
agriculture's contribution to GDP coming down to an all time low of 23%. In his view, higher
productivity meant empowerment of people in real and tangible terms, hence there is urgent need for
vigorously launching vocational courses in agriculture.

RMoL-BASIX 17
Technical Session-I
The session was devoted to 'Approaches in vocational Education' and was chaired by Dr H.P.
Vyas, Director SSPL, DRDO. Dr. Vyas said that we excel in planning but miserably fail in
implementation, and emphasized 'learning by doing.'
Prof. Ajit Jain presented a process-review of literacy, post-literacy and continuing Education
(TLC, PL and CE), brought to the fore the good results as evident in the 2001 census. He talked of the
quality of life improving programmes coupled with income generating programmes that inevitably lead
to creation of a learning society.
Dr. T.P. Jain talked of vocational courses in the field of health and medicine adding value to the
nursing courses.
Dr. Anil Mehta underlined the need for promotion of self-employment through EDP, dwelling
at length on course content of EDP, motivation training, developing management skills, etc.

Technical Session 2
The session was devoted to service and Industry sector and was chaired by Prof. N.D. Mathur.
Prof. D.S. Sansanwal advocated infra-structure development at vocational schools and underlined the
need for industry to play the role of a catalytic agent, particularly in the areas of man power training and
maternal development, mobile units and income generating programmes.
Prof. Ashok Chandra aphoristically said, "We fail not because we don't effectively implement
things, but because we don't correctly conceive things" He added, "We should anticipate the future,
rather than worrying about the problems of the past". Referring to bio-technology, IT and
Nanotechnology, he talked of the fast-changing paradigm and stressed that 'our knowledge profile will
determine our capacity to anticipate the future'.

Day 2
Technical Session 3: Content Development, Quality, Assessment and Accreditation
Prof. Sansanwal laid emphasis on the need for a content development cell in different vocations
of different length. He also suggested that the non-formal and formal training must be assessed and
accredited by some authority to give them a recognized social status.
Dr. Manju Mehta, Prof. & Head, Department of Psychology, University of Rajasthan presented
a paper on vocational and technical education and training needs for girls and women. She advocated
the need to strengthen post training support, such as credit, and help in finding suppliers and market, job
search assistance, credit and market advices and on site services for girls and women.
Dr. A .K. Sacheti shared his views on vocational education & training –Issues and imperative
for implementation.
Professor M.L. Sisodia was of the opinion that it is essential to study the choice of subjects and
their relevance to environment, employment and self employment.
Major findings and recommendations:
 To empower the people, the first and foremost event to take place in our country is through
employment generation coupled with skill oriented education and training.
 Higher productivity means empowerment of people in real and tangible terms, hence there is
urgent need for vigorously launching vocational courses in agriculture.
 The major challenges are the supporting policies and programmes, quality, standards, proper
assessment, accreditation, proper institutional mechanism and a requirement of Industry
government interface
 Need for a separate state policy and separate directorate for vocational education and a
separate budgetary provision.
 Flexibility in eligibility criterion to make scope for a larger section of the society who has not
been able to continue their regular education.

RMoL-BASIX 18
  Encouragement for Public Private Partnership and a regular interface among the stake
holders.
 Judicious mix of theory and practical training and the job training.
 To adopt ‘catch them young’ strategy and begin counseling sessions right from the school
level onwards.
 Vocational Education Training should be demand driven.
 Development of courses/ modules as per the market requirement
 Identification of accreditation agency.
 Preparing institutions for accreditation.
 Identification of training providers, proper execution of training programmes and assessment
of the quality of these programmes.
 Feedback on quality of training to training provider.
 Organization of examination through continuous comprehensive evaluation and / or
performance based evaluation.
 Areas for Institutional Development are Capacity Development, Expansion & Innovation,
Quality & Networking & Convergence
 Mandatory provision for promoting Vocational Education Trainings
 Regular training of trainers programmes
 Convergence with Government programs – (e.g. RMoL etc.)
 Support Institutions on Quality Enhancement & Benchmarking
 PRIs and other community institutions should also be involved – NREGS, Shiksha Shivirs,
DPIP, DPEP etc.
 Industries may be allowed to adopt, manage and run the selected ITI- to start with five.
 State/ RMoL and Industry should collaborate to identify larger livelihood opportunity in rural
sector and identify major industry and business areas such as textiles, stones, handicrafts,
hospitality and retail sector.

RMoL-BASIX 19
Composition of RMoL:
Sl. No. Name & Designation
1. Hon’ble Chief Minister Chairman
2. Shri M.L.Mehta, IAS (Retd.) , Ex-Chief Dy. Chairman
Secretary, Rajasthan
3. Dr N S Hegde, Chairman, BAIF, Pune Member
4. Dr Tushaar Shah, International Water Member
Management Institute
5. Shri V K Ladia, CMD, Shree Rajasthan Syntex Member
Ltd. Dungarpur
6. Shri Rajiv Jain, Managing Director, M/s Member
Sambhav Gems, Jaipur
7. Shri Dilip Baid, Chairman, Federation of Member
Rajasthan Handicrafts Exporters Association
8. Shri Brij Mohan, ED (Retd.), SIDBI, Lucknow Member
9. Shri Vikram Golecha, Ex. Chairman, CII, Member
Rajasthan Chapter
10. Shri Arun Goyal, Director, Academy of Member
Business Studies, New Delhi
11. Shri Ravi Srivastva, Professor, Center for Member
Regional Development Studies, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi
12. Shri Vijay Mahajan, Chairman, BASIX Principal Advisor
13. Shri D P Bagchi, Former Secretary, SSI, GoI Principal Advisor
14. Shri Apurva Kumar, ED, Hotel Clarks Amer, Member
Jaipur

RMoL-BASIX 20