Relevant Education

A pilot project called Relevant education has been initiated in partnership with NIAR (National Institute of Administrative Research) in which 105 children from 5 government schools studying in classes 6 and 7 are involved. The project is being implemented in 3 districts - Barddhamaan, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas in collaboration with other NGOs. This is not a course in vocational education, but a unique process to bridge the gap between the world of vocations and the academic world.

"Relevant Education" is an innovative concept to bridge the gap between 'education for life' and 'education for livelihood'. It serves to increase the relevance of education for the poorer sections of the society.

The objective of the project

It has been seen especially among the poorer sections of the society that majority of students after completing their upper primary level of education (declared compulsory for all children - a national goal) drop out and join the mainstream world of livelihood. As a result, it is necessary to provide a well-rounded education that prepares them to enter the professional world. Introducing some vocation oriented items in the regular curriculum at the upper primary level, albeit as an innovative component on a pilot basis, may be able to enthuse a large number of parents and children and motivate them to stay in school. Thus the objective of this action research project is to develop such items as an adjunct curriculum in government schools and to conduct working trials so that we can gauge its possibilities to serve the purpose as intended to.