For decades, India’s education system has been driven by an obsession with marks and standardised examinations. From board exams to competitive entrance tests, academic performance is measured almost exclusively through a numerical lens. While this has produced a large population of degree-holders, it has not necessarily translated into a skilled and employable workforce. As India strides into an era of technological disruption, economic transformation, and global competition, the time has come to shift our national focus from mere academic scores to practical skills and real-world capabilities.

The Problem with Marks-Driven Learning In most Indian schools and colleges, student performance is measured by how well they can reproduce textbook knowledge in a written exam. This system rewards rote memorization over conceptual understanding, speed over depth, and short-term cramming over long-term learning. The consequences are far-reaching. • Limited Creativity and Critical Thinking: The pressure to score high often curtails creativity.

Students are discouraged from questioning, debating, or exploring alternative solutions. In a marks-centric system, there is little room for curiosity or divergent thinking.

• Mental Health Concerns: The high stakes attached to board exams, entrance tests, and university cut-offs have made academic performance a source of stress and anxiety for millions of students. Depression, burnout, and even suicides linked to exam results are tragically common. • Employability Crisis: A 2023 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) found that nearly 50 per cent of Indian graduates are not employable in industry due to lack of skills. Despite high academic scores, many students fail to meet basic requirements in communication, problem-solving, or digital literacy.

• Inequity in Opportunity: A rigid exam-based system tends to favor those with access to coaching centers, private tuitions, and supportive environments. Students from under- privileged backgrounds often fall behind, not due to a lack of intelligence or ambition, but because of structural disadvantages. Global Trends: Skills Over Scores Many leading economies have already begun reorienting their education systems to focus on skills. Finland, consistently ranked among the top in global education indices, emphasizes student well-being, creativity, and collaboration rather than standardized testing. In Germany, the dual education system integrates classroom learning with hands-on vocational training, making graduates highly employable. Even in India, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has acknowledged the need to transition towards holistic, skills-based education. The policy emphasizes critical thinking, experiential learning, and flexibility in subject choices. However, implementation at a scale remains a challenge. What Skills Should Indian Education Prioritize? To align with the future of work, the Indian education system must prioritize a diverse set of cognitive, technical, and socio-emotional skills:

• Digital and Technological Literacy: Foundational knowledge in computing, coding, and digital tools is essential.

• Communication and Collaboration: The ability to express ideas clearly, work in teams, and resolve conflicts.

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Analyze information, think independently, and devise practical solutions.

• Creativity and Innovation: Encourage experimentation and original thinking across disciplines.

• Emotional Intelligence: Empathy, resilience, and adaptability are key to navigating the modern world.

• Vocational and Entrepreneurial Skills: Practical training in trades and entrepreneurship can open up alternative career paths. How to Make the Shift: Concrete Steps

• Curriculum Reform: Boards must reduce content overload and include modules on skill-building, coding, and design thinking.

• Assessment Redesign: Move towards application-based assessments, open-book exams, and portfolio evaluations.

• Teacher Training: Equip teachers to deliver experiential, project-based, and interdisciplinary education.

• Industry-Academia Partnerships: Offer students internships, workshops, and real-world exposure through collaborations.

• Technology Integration: Use EdTech platforms to provide accessible, skill-focused education at scale.

• Recognition of Diverse Talents: Broaden entrance and scholarship criteria to reward innovation and creativity.

The Role of Parents and Society Education reforms can only succeed if there is a collective change in mindset. Indian society has traditionally equated marks with success and failure. This attitude needs to evolve. Parents must recognise that a child scoring 70 per cent but excelling in communication and creativity may have greater potential than a 95 per cent scorer with no practical skills. Schools should celebrate diverse talents and redefine what constitutes ”success”.

Media and public discourse can also play a role by highlighting role models who succeeded not because of marks, but because of skills — entrepreneurs, artists, coders, athletes, and social change-makers. India stands at a crucial juncture. With the world’s largest youth population and a rapidly digitizing economy, the opportunity to become a global knowledge leader is within reach.

But this vision cannot be achieved through mark sheets alone. It requires an education system that nurtures thinkers, builders, creators, and leaders. By shifting from a marks-driven to skills-driven paradigm, India can unlock the full potential of its young minds — building not just careers, but a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive nation. (The writer is a PhD graduate from IIT Kharagpur. Views expressed above are his own)

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Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy asserts that the newly established Telangana Young India Skill University will be a role model for the country. On Thursday, CM Reddy appealed to industrialists and blue-chip companies to join as partners to impart skills and help the youth get jobs.

The Chief Minister met with the Telangana Young India Skill University Board headed by noted industrialist Anand Mahindra and representatives of industries from various sectors. Revanth Reddy entrusted the University Board with the responsibility of promoting Skill University as the best institution in the country. The Chief Minister said the government has already allotted 150 acres of land and earmarked Rs 100 crore for the university. He appealed to industrialists to partner and create a Corpus Fund to run the institution. He also urged the industrialists to come forward and construct buildings on the university campus. The buildings will be named after companies and donors who contributed to their construction. He exuded confidence that the university would get its brand image in the country under the leadership of Anand Mahindra, who has already made his mark in the field of skill development.

Revanth Reddy told the meeting that the government would now focus on establishing the Young India Sports University, which is coming up on 200 acres. The sports university will train enthusiastic athletes to win gold medals for the country in the 2028 Olympics. The Chief Minister also urged industrialists to take part in the development of the sports university.

Stating that there is no shortage of funds, the Chief Minister said the government was ready to spend Rs 1,000 crore, out of Rs 3 lakh crore in the state annual budget, to promote sports. Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, Industry and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu, University Board Chairman Anand Mahindra, Co-Chairman Srini Raju, Board Members P. Devaiah, Suchitra Ella, Satish Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, Special Chief Secretary to Government Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to CM Seshadri, CM’s Special Secretary Ajith Reddy and other senior officers participated in this meeting. Board members Manish Sabharwal, Sanjeev Bikchandani, MM Murugappan, Dr. KP Krishnan participated in the meeting through video conference.

The Chief Minister noted that degrees are insufficient for youth to get jobs. On the other hand, the industries face a shortage of skilled manpower. Skill University is aimed at bridging this gap. State IT and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu said the state government is working hard to promote Hyderabad as a world-class investment destination. As part of this, the government decided to set up a new Future City and envisaged plans to establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) city.

University Board Chairman Anand Mahindra praised CM Revanth Reddy for the idea of Skill University to produce skilled youth from Telangana for the world. Stating that the Chief Minister is a highly competent leader and his vision is commendable, Anand Mahindra said this was why he accepted the responsibility of University Board Chairman at his request. “The governments used to give top priority to subsidies, but CM Revanth Reddy showed vision by giving importance to skill development for jobs,” he said.

The University Board decided Skill University will start teaching the courses this year. The courses will begin next month after Dasara. The classes will be temporarily started in the Engineering Staff College of India. The courses in healthcare, commerce, and logistics will be launched first. Apollo, AIG, Lenskart, Flipkart, Amazon, All Cargo, Pro Connect, and O9 Solutions companies have come forward to offer courses. The university will train 2,000 youth in the first year.

–IANS

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As Japan is facing labour force shortage of 6.44 million people by 2030, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a memorandum of cooperation between India and Japan that would allow the movement of skilled workers between both Asian allies, reports The Economic Times.

This agreement would allow Indian workers a new status of residence under ‘Specified Skilled Worker’ by the Japanese government. It must also be noted that Tokyo, capital of Japan, alone will be short of 1.33 million workers.

“The idea is to enhance people-to-people contacts, foster mobility of workers and skilled professionals from India to Japan. Under this MOC, a joint working group will be set up to follow up the implementation of the memorandum of cooperation,” the cabinet statement said.

The Indian government has listed the 14 sectors that will benefit both nations from this agreement. They are nursing care, building cleaning, material processing, industrial machinery manufacturing, electric and electronic information related industry, construction, shipbuilding and ship-related industry, automobile maintenance, aviation, lodging, agriculture, fisheries, food and beverages manufacturing, and foodservice industry.

This will be a blessing for both nations as the skilled workers from India will help Japan meet its labour shortages, support the local economy and at the same boost India’s remittance economy.

According to the World Bank, India is the largest recipient of remittances followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt.

The Modi government has plans to turn India into a leading supplier of skilled workers to the global market through its domestic skill training programmes like Skill India.

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The Directorate General of Training (DGT) joined hands with Microsoft and NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) to provide a digital content for ITI students and boost the various programs for upskilling and reskilling.  Nearly 1,20,000 students in around 3000 ITIs across India can be benefited by this digitized e-learning module via the Bharatskills portal.

Over the last two years, DGT has collaborated with several digital industry front-liners like IBM, SAP, Cisco Systems, Accenture Solutions, Quest Alliance, Adobe, SSC-NASSCOM etc., to enable students to become industry-ready. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), DGT is responsible for imparting long-term institutional training to the nation’s youth through its extensive network of about 15,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 33 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). DGT plays a key role in the execution of vocational training schemes and in realizing the dream of ‘Skill India’.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Through the DGT-Microsoft partnership, we are aiming to impact thousands of students by enabling digitization in education and hope it to reach more students and teachers soon.  As the pandemic is compelling fast-track digital transition, these new learning initiatives will empower young learners with technical and market-oriented skills.”

DGT launched an online learning platform called Bharatskills (https://bharatskills.gov.in) in October 2019. Bharatskills provides easy access to updated curricula and course content of all courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS), Question Banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos, etc. The platform is available to trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, thus enabling learning outside the classrooms. This platform also presents a unique access to a centralized, scalable and a thriving support ecosystem through its industrial partners for students and teachers, who can now learn to meet the demands of the industry.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the usage of the Bharatskills learning platform increased multifold from around 90,000 users in March 2020 to more than 16.55 Lakh users having accessed the portal as on date.

Speaking on the occasion, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said that empowering the next generation of learners with industry relevant digital skills was critical as we moved towards building economic resilience. “The last few months have accelerated the need for upskilling and has shown clearly that the future of learning will be supported by technology. Our partnership with DGT and NASSCOM is built on this foundation of equipping the learners of today with the skills required to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow”, he said.

Under an MoU between DGT, Microsoft and NASSCOM, Microsoft has facilitated access to free content available on the Microsoft Learn platform for more than 24 Lakh students in the ITI ecosystem, by linking the Global Skilling Initiative (GSI) through the Bharatskills platform. Further, it is enabling the digitization of the entire content of a popular course – ‘Computer Operating and Programming Assistant’ (COPA) through NASSCOM.  Trainers/Faculties in the NSTIs and ITIs are participating in the faculty development programs being conducted with Microsoft’s support.

The blended content, with self-learning digital tutorials and handholding from teachers, is expected to be accessed by more than 1 lakh 20 thousand students pursuing the course across 3000 industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) annually. This is expected to reduce the number of class-room hours and student-teacher engagement, leading to the possibility of training double the existing number of students in COPA course within the same infrastructure.

(Published from PIB)

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