Create Vocational Pathways in Secondary School

Students should not have to choose between being considered “academic” or “vocational.”

Yet vocational education has historically been perceived in India as a lower-status alternative to mainstream academic education. NEP 2020 itself identifies this social hierarchy as a major problem and calls for vocational education to be integrated into mainstream education. Education Government of India
Many students therefore reach the end of secondary school with limited exposure to technical occupations, skilled trades or practical careers before making important decisions about further education.

At the same time, choosing vocational subjects should not restrict a student’s future options. A student who learns electronics, automotive technology, healthcare support or another occupation in school should still be able to pursue university education later.

The objective should be multiple pathways—not separate tracks that permanently divide students.

India should make meaningful vocational education available alongside academic education throughout secondary school.

Students should first receive broad exposure to different occupations and practical skills, allowing them to discover their interests and abilities before choosing more specialized training.

At the secondary level, students who want deeper vocational education should be able to select recognized courses in fields relevant to regional and national employment opportunities—for example:

– manufacturing and advanced machinery;
– electrical and electronics;
– construction and skilled trades;
– automotive and EV technology;
– healthcare support;
– hospitality and tourism;
– agriculture and food processing;
– logistics;
– information technology; and
– renewable energy.

Schools should not need to build expensive workshops for every occupation. They should partner with ITIs, polytechnics, vocational institutes, local employers and regional training centres, allowing students to use shared facilities and receive hands-on instruction. This is consistent with NEP’s proposed hub-and-spoke model for vocational facilities.

Vocational courses should carry recognized credits and qualifications that students can build upon after school through apprenticeships, ITIs, polytechnics, advanced vocational education or higher education.

Most importantly, vocational education should never become an educational dead end. Students choosing vocational subjects should retain pathways into college and university if they later choose to continue academically.

The pathway should be:

Explore → Choose → Learn → Practice → Earn Credits → Apprenticeship, Employment or Higher Education

Switzerland demonstrates that vocational and academic education do not have to be divided into high-status and low-status pathways.

Vocational education and training provides a foundation for roughly two-thirds of young people in Switzerland. Students can undertake two-, three- or four-year vocational programmes leading to federally recognized qualifications, generally combining education with workplace training.

Crucially, choosing vocational education does not necessarily close the door to further education. Students in longer VET programmes can pursue the Federal Vocational Baccalaureate, which provides access to universities of applied sciences.

The pathway is also mainstream rather than marginal: in Switzerland’s 2025 transition data, about half of young people leaving compulsory schooling entered vocational education and training.

India has already established the policy direction. NEP 2020 calls for vocational education to be integrated into mainstream education, collaboration between secondary schools and ITIs, polytechnics and industry, and vocational exposure beginning before the end of secondary school.

The next step is to make that opportunity widely available and ensure that vocational education becomes a credible pathway to employment and further education rather than a fallback for students considered unsuitable for university.

Not every student needs the same educational path—but every path should offer the opportunity to build a successful career.