Now Reading: NITI Aayog states key for skilling amid NEP funding row
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NITI Aayog states key for skilling amid NEP funding row
A new NITI Aayog report proposes placing the primary responsibility for skilling India's 8.7 crore NEET youth on state governments, calling them the 'drivers of transformation.' The report recommends states adapt national…
A new NITI Aayog report proposes placing the primary responsibility for skilling India's 8.7 crore NEET youth on state governments, calling them the 'drivers of transformation.' The report recommends states adapt national frameworks to local labour markets, introduce general employability skills from Grade 6, and launch vocational Kaushal Tracks from Grade 9. It also pushes for outcome-linked programmes and more apprenticeships.
However, several non-NDA state governments accuse the Centre of coercing them into adopting the National Education Policy 2020 by linking school infrastructure grants to NEP compliance. Tamil Nadu has rejected the three-language mandate as an imposition of Hindi. The report comes amid deepening federal tensions over education funding, and its execution depends on states accepting the NEP-linked financial terms the Centre has tied to scheme grants.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The constitutional split between the Union and state lists gives states primacy over education (List II, Entry 25) and vocational training (List III, Entry 25), yet centrally designed skilling schemes have long bypassed state consultation. The 8.7-crore NEET figure reflects the 2022-23 PLFS data, where India's labour force participation rate of around 40% masks deep regional variation: Bihar and UP have far higher NEET shares than Kerala or Tamil Nadu. The NITI Aayog report's call for localised delivery implicitly concedes that NSDC-led programmes, with their standardised curriculum and national targets, have struggled to match employer demand in states. Whether states take on this role depends on the same disputed grants: over Rs 1.3 lakh crore in school education funds is linked to NEP and PM SHRI compliance, per state finance department submissions in the latest Budget cycle.
Source: thefederal.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
