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Bhubaneswar: School and Mass Education Minister Badrinarayan Patra flagged off the ‘Skills on wheels’ campaign under the Samagra Shiskha Abhiyan, Odisha, Thursday to popularise vocational education across the state. The campaign was flagged odd at the Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA) premises.
A mobile app developed by the Technical Department partner, Lend-A-Hand, and comprising tools including multi-skilling engineering, energy and environment, agriculture and food processing, ‘Skills on wheels’ will campaign at six selected government high schools in and around the capital city for three days from July 18 to 20 to make students aware about the prospects of vocational education.
A number of tow trainers and vocational education students will be traveling with the mobile lab to for hands-on demonstration of the tools and explain their benefits.
Speaking on the occasion, Patra said that the Odisha government is prioritising implementation of vocational education at secondary and higher secondary levels. Already, vocational courses have been implemented in 314 secondary schools under the Samagra Shikshya Abhiyan, he said. “Vocational education is taught in these schools as a subject in place of the third language and it carryies100 marks. The department has signed MoU with the nationally-recognised Lend—Hand, India, which is providing technical and project management support for the implementation of this scheme.”
State project director, OPEPA, Bhupendra S Poonia said the government will expand vocational education to 95 more secondary schools, out of which 80 schools will have multi-skilling as one of the trades that provides wider opportunities of learning. Besides, the government has approved introduction of vocational education in 25 government higher secondary schools this year under Samagra Shisksha Abiyan, he said.
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