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The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 recognises three pressing global challenges that necessitate an educational response. Firstly, emerging technologies like machine learning, big data, and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) demand adaptability (learning how to learn) and high-order skills in tomorrow’s workforce. Secondly, environmental challenges posed by climate change, depleting natural resources, and pollution require innovative and sustainable solutions to meet the world’s food, water, energy and sanitation needs. Thirdly, the growing risk of novel diseases, pandemics and epidemics impose the need for improved medical research and economic resilience. To prepare for these challenges, the NEP prioritises a new age, skill-centric education from early grades that leverages an interdisciplinary approach, blending theoretical classroom knowledge with practical application.
The growing risk of novel diseases, pandemics and epidemics impose the need for improved medical research and economic resilience.
Steps towards the implementation of skill education
To implement skill education from an early age, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India’s largest national board with 30,634 affiliated schools, has undertaken significant initiatives. In the middle grades (VI-VIII), CBSE has introduced 12-15 hour skill modules on 33 subjects like coding, data science, design thinking and mass media. At the secondary and senior secondary grades (IX-XII), a skill subject can be opted into from a list of 42 subjects as the 6th elective. These subjects are mapped to specific National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) levels for future career benefits and the employability of students. A policy update on 10 January 2025 allows students to replace the marks of an academic subject with the skill subject, should they fail in any elective subject, offering greater flexibility in their academic journey.
Three aspects stand out from the CBSE’s approach to integrating skill education in schools. First, it offers courses on cutting-edge technologies like 3D (three-dimensional) printing, drone technology, AI, as well as traditional subjects like Kashmiri embroidery, pottery and herbal heritage. Second, it strives to balance the demands for students’ skill development with the needs of local industries by encouraging schools to design a flexible curriculum that is suited to work prospects in the surrounding context. Third, in collaboration with industry leaders, CBSE proactively offers curriculum design, teaching resources, and handholding and mentorship programmes for schools to implement these subjects effectively.
It strives to balance the demands for students’ skill development with the needs of local industries by encouraging schools to design a flexible curriculum that is suited to work prospects in the surrounding context.
In August 2024, the CBSE directed its affiliated schools to establish Composite Skill Labs with all necessary tools and technology. To be set up within three years, these labs aim to provide continuous hands-on experience and industry-linked training to students.
Other boards, like the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), are also promoting skill education by introducing new-age subjects and partnering with institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to design curricula that align with emerging industry trends.
Such cumulative efforts over the last few years have improved India’s readiness to meet the changing demands of the future, positioning the country at a global rank of 25 in the QS World Future Skills Index, with a remarkable second position in the indicator “Future of Work”.
Benefits from skill education
Adding 9.7 million potential workers to its labour force every year, India stands to gain substantial socio-economic benefits from early skilling initiatives. One primary benefit is bridging the gap between academic learning and its practical, real-world applications, making future workers more adaptable and employable. Skill subjects like carpentry, agriculture, marketing and sales allow students to practise their classroom knowledge in tangible ways, enabling a holistic and engaging learning experience.
An impact study by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT 2017) found that, in addition to gaining employability skills, skill education helped students improve retention, academic interest, testing outcomes and confidence levels. Early exposure to diverse career paths allows students to explore their interests and talents, offering opportunities to align their skills with industry needs.
One primary benefit is bridging the gap between academic learning and its practical, real-world applications, making future workers more adaptable and employable.
The World Future Skills Index finds that India is lagging behind in preparing students with AI, green, and digital skills. This gap is likely to be addressed shortly as the uptake of early skill education in schools improves. Illustratively, in the current academic session (2024-25), more than 800,000 students across 4,538 CBSE-affiliated schools have chosen to study AI courses at secondary and senior-secondary levels, reflecting a surge in demand for future-ready skills.
In addition to technical capabilities, skill education also promotes essential life skills such as communication, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving. It fosters a growth mindset, along with values such as adaptability, resilience and social responsibility, which are increasingly becoming vital as the traditional job markets evolve and new industries emerge. For instance, many students may not view traditional academic subjects as significant to their future employment but may want to gain employable skills like submitting online applications, writing professional emails, basic book-keeping and generating e-invoices.
Market-ready labour will position India to better address both domestic employment needs as well as global skilled labour shortages, particularly in developed economies grappling with aging populations. Countries in the Global North are increasingly becoming reliant on demographically younger countries like India to supply skilled professionals. If India integrates global standards in its skill curricula, and strategically aligns its skill education system with international labour market requirements, it can solidify its role as a key contributor to the global workforce in the era of Industry 4.0.
It fosters a growth mindset, along with values such as adaptability, resilience and social responsibility, which are increasingly becoming vital as the traditional job markets evolve and new industries emerge.
Barriers to skill education in India
Despite the enabling policy conditions, India faces at least three broad barriers to skill education. First is its infrastructure and resource constraints. As per the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus report (UDISE+ 2023-24), only 57.2 percent of schools across the country have working computers, 53.9 percent have internet connectivity, 55.9 percent of secondary schools have integrated science lab facilities, and 17.5 percent have arts and crafts facilities. These gaps are likely to create hindrances in the delivery of skill education.
Second, teachers in most schools are not adequately trained to deliver skill courses. Despite capacity-building programmes and resource development by the CBSE, schools struggle to integrate new-age courses like robotics or AI in their curriculum. Anecdotes from the field suggest that schools have turned to private vendor collaborations to deliver these programmes. However, this raises the questions of affordability and accessibility for students in underserved areas.
In addition to this, the third barrier is India's rigid school system, which heavily focuses on academic subjects. Parents and teachers may not fully appreciate the value in skill education, and schools may allocate insufficient time for such initiatives, unwilling to relent under the competitive pressure of board exams in secondary classes. In contrast to traditional pathways, skill education is often viewed as a fallback option for those who struggle in the mainstream academic path.
Despite capacity-building programmes and resource development by the CBSE, schools struggle to integrate new-age courses like robotics or AI in their curriculum.
The way forward
The skill enrolment in schools in India is just around 4 percent, compared to a much higher proportion in Western countries as well as other Asian countries (see figure).
Figure: Skill education enrolment in India versus other countries
Source: Jobs at your doorstep, 2024. World Bank
This glaring need for skill education, and in light of the benchmarks set by the NEP, several government and multilateral agencies have been prompted to offer recommendations for the effective integration of skill education in India. These include the need to strengthen infrastructure and expand offerings in skill education by setting up large, infrastructure-capable schools as skill hubs. These can then connect with smaller schools in their surroundings, following a hub-and-spoke model, expanding skill education to all schools.
Additionally, public-private partnerships (PPP) to help provide tools, resources and technical guidance in curriculum design have been explored. For rapid coverage and quality assurance, coordinated action among different stakeholders, i.e. academic and governance institutions, industry, civil societies groups, CSRs and multilaterals, has also been recommended.
Inadequate teacher preparation, insufficient monitoring, and lax accreditation mechanisms can dilute the effectiveness of the programme, resulting in low employability and a continued skill-industry mismatch.
In this scenario, it is important to acknowledge some causes for caution to maintain a balanced approach. First, the drive to expand the skill education programme and meet policy targets can sometimes result in overlooking quality parameters. Inadequate teacher preparation, insufficient monitoring, and lax accreditation mechanisms can dilute the effectiveness of the programme, resulting in low employability and a continued skill-industry mismatch.
Another difficulty is to keep the curricula agile, continuously adapting to the evolving needs of the industry. Rapidly evolving global labour markets and technological advancements necessitate that skill education, to remain relevant, adopt a dynamic approach, incorporating real-time feedback from industry stakeholders and labour market analyses. This involves flexible course structures with continuous curriculum updates and robust partnerships between educational institutions and industry leaders. Such measures ensure that students possess the competencies needed to meet the shifting demands of the job market.
Finally, a significant risk is inequitable access to quality skill education, where marginalised students continue to face a lack of infrastructure, a digital divide, and poor foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes. Hence, without targeted interventions like mobile training units, scholarships or stipends, and community-based programmes, skill education could deepen existing inequalities in school education instead of bridging them.
Arpan Tulsyan is Senior Fellow with the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy at the Observer Research Foundation.
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