Stakeholder Perspectives and Emerging Challenges in the Implementation of Vocational Education in Secondary Schools under NEP 2020

Abstract

Vocational education has become an integral part of the educational reform in India, especially with the advent of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which highlights skill development, employability, and experiential learning in education. The present study set to explore the attitude of students and teachers towards vocational education and to find out the problems faced in implementing this education in secondary schools in the context of NEP 2020. The study was conducted using descriptive survey method. This sample consisted of 230 students and 35 teachers from Government and Private secondary school in North District of Delhi in purposive sampling. Self-developed research tools were used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed through Mean, Standard Deviation and Independent samples t-test. The results indicated that the students and teachers have positive attitude towards vocational education in general. Additionally, there were no significant differences between government and private school students, male and female students, male and female within government and private school, and government and private school teachers. The study also brought to light some of the issues confronting the implementation of vocational education such as poor infrastructure, lack of vocational teachers, poor link between industry and school, lack of learning materials and negative attitude towards vocational education from society. Based on the study, it is inferred that vocational education has been accepted by the stakeholders but enhancement of the institutional support, teacher training, infrastructure facilities, and industry partnership will be crucial for the effective and efficient implementation of the vocational education under NEP 2020.