Maharashtra to set up Vocational Education Commission

IN A MOVE THAT IS expected to benefit over 5 lakh students, the Government of Maharashtra proposes to set up an independent commission to monitor and regulate all the vocational courses being conducted in the state. According to Maharashtra Minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajesh Tope, the proposed “Maharashtra Vocational Education Commission” (MVEC) will govern all the vocational courses, including Indian Technical Institutes (ITI’s), Minimum Competency Vocational Course (MCVC) and bifocal, and also those conducted by Maharashtra State Board for Technical Education (MSBTE) and Maharashtra State Board for Vocational Education (MSBVE). The courses would be granted equivalence with the SSC and HSC examinations of the state board, Mr. Tope said in the Maharashtra Legislative Council during the ongoing winter session in Nagpur. “Thus, students pursuing ITI or diploma will be awarded equivalence. This will enable them to pursue higher education just like other students by undergoing a short-term bridge course. This is expected to benefit more than five lakh students across Maharashtra,” he said, adding that this would give vertical and lateral mobility to the students of vocational courses, which is not possible right now.  In effect, this would mean that even an ITI student can pursue graduation in arts, commerce or science after doing the bridge course, he said. Right now, certificate courses of durations ranging from six months to two years are usually conducted under the aegis of MSBVE, he added.