Separate exam for ITI pass-outs soon

NEW DELHI: The skills development ministry plans to soon conduct its own skills examination equivalent to 10th and 12th standards for those who pass Industrial Training Institute courses, a measure it feels can boost the government's Skill India mission.

Under the existing system, school dropouts who opt for vocational training are imparted 10th and 12th equivalent certificates from the National Institute of Open Schooling under the ministry of human resource and development.

" HRD ministry has given us permission to conduct such examination. We are now internally assessing whether to collaborate with CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Examination) or set up our own board," Union minister of state skill development and entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said on Tuesday while outlining the achievements of the NDA government in the past three years.

Rudy said 1.7 crore people have been trained through ITIs, apprenticeship and fees based courses since this government assumed charge. Denying any kind of targets being set up by his ministry on the number of youths to be trained, the ministry said its focus is not on the number but on the quality of training being imparted to the youth.

At the launch of Skill India mission in 2015, the ministry had hinted at providing skills training to more than 40 crore youth by 2022, which seems a daunting task due to hurdles of infrastructure, quality of training, lack of proper trainers and not enough linkage with the industry.

The skills development ministry is banking heavily on the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, under which it will provide apprenticeship training to 50 lakh youth by 2020.

Under the scheme Rs 10,000 crore has been sanctioned over the next four years to offer financial incentives to employers and a monthly stipend of up to Rs 1,500 to apprentices. Besides, the scheme proposes to give 25 per cent of the prescribed stipend payable to apprentices to be reimbursed to the employers directly by the Centre.