Topic of the day:-“A global alignment”
The second recurring theme is the realisation of human potential. This means aligning the courses to international requirements, ensuring a basic foundation in the 3Rs, and life-long learning. It implies national standards for an in-demand skill set with national/global mobility that translates into better jobs. Short duration courses (with no real skills) that provide low pay for suboptimal jobs cannot be called national standards. Hence the current national standards have to drastically improve.
This means that we should have no more than 450 courses — Germany has only 340 courses — in accordance with the National Classification of Occupations 2015 (which itself was based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations). Such trainees will be a national asset. What we have instead are nearly 10,000 standards, produced mostly by consultants. There cannot be thousands of standards (compressed into 2,000 qualification packs/job roles), and “delivered” to trainees in a matter of a few months. This is not what the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) had recommended. The focus should be in strengthening reading, writing and arithmetic skills. No skill development can succeed if most of the workforce lacks the foundation to pick up skills in a fast-changing world. Vocational training must by definition be for a minimum of a year, which includes internship (without which certification is not possible). Short-term training should be confined to recognising prior learning of informally trained workers who are already working.
The third theme is to do what is right when no one is watching you, because, as in other industries, the regulator has displayed a limited capacity to regulate. Cases of a conflict of interests, of rigged assessments and of training happening only on paper are not new.
A recent parliamentary report on private ITIs has exposed yet another scam — the Quality Council of India’s approval for thousands of private ITIs. If the number of private ITIs has grown from under 2,000 to over 11,000 in five years, it points to a colossal failure of regulation, accompanied by a lack of quality training on offer at such ITIs.
There is a huge ethics and accountability issue if there is no credible assessment board and when there are too many sector skill councils, each trying to maximise their business. The Sharada Prasad Committee had recommended that the number of SSCs should correspond to the National Industrial (Activity) Classification (which has 21 economic activities across the entire economy), but which is still way larger than Australia’s six. Little has happened except for the number of SSCs dropping from 40 to 39.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Salvaging
Meaning: Retrieve or preserve (something) from potential loss or adverse circumstances.
Example: “It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal”
| Synonyms: | Retain, Preserve |
2) Prudent
Meaning: Acting with or showing care and thought for the future.
Example: “No prudent money manager would authorize a loan without first knowing its purpose”
| Synonyms: | Wise, Well judged |
| Antonyms: | Unwise, Imprudent |
3) Stopgap
Meaning: A temporary way of dealing with a problem or satisfying a need.
Example: “Transplants are only a stopgap until more sophisticated alternatives can work”
| Synonyms: | Improvisation, Expedient |
| Antonyms: | Permanent |
4) Stemmed
Meaning: Originate in or be caused by.
Example: “Many of the universities’ problems stem from rapid expansion”
| Synonyms: | Have its origins in |
| Antonyms: | Cause, Give rise to |
5) Mushroomed
Meaning: Increase, spread, or develop rapidly.
Example: “Environmental concern mushroomed in the 1960s”
| Synonyms: | Proliferate, Grow/develop rapidly, |
| Antonyms: | Contract, Fail |
6) Suboptimal
Meaning: Of less than the highest standard or quality.
Example: “Suboptimal working conditions”
7) Conflict
Meaning: A state of mind in which a person experiences a clash of opposing feelings or needs.
Example: “Bewildered by her own inner conflict, she could only stand there feeling vulnerable”
8) Rigged
Meaning: Manage or conduct (something) fraudulently so as to gain an advantage.
Example: “The results of the elections had been rigged”
| Synonyms: | Manipulate, Arrange fraudulently |
9) Scam
Meaning: A dishonest scheme; a fraud.
Example: “An insurance scam”
| Synonyms: | Fraud, Swindle |
10) Colossal
Meaning: Extremely large or great.
Example: “A colossal amount of mail”
| Synonyms: | Huge, Massive |
| Antonyms: | Tiny |
11) Synergy
Meaning: The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
Example: “The synergy between artist and record company”
12) Scrutiny
Meaning: Critical observation or examination.
Example: “Every aspect of local government was placed under scrutiny”
| Synonyms: | Careful examination, inspection, survey, scan, study, perusal; More |
| Antonyms: | Glance, Cursory look |
13) Lamenting
Meaning: Express regret or disappointment about something.
Example: “She lamented the lack of shops in the town”
| Synonyms: | Bemoan, Bewail |
14) Onus
Meaning: Something that is one’s duty or responsibility.
Example: “The onus is on you to show that you have suffered loss”
| Synonyms: | Burden, Responsibility |
15) Reimburse
Meaning: Repay (a person who has spent or lost money).
Example: “The investors should be reimbursed for their losses”
| Synonyms: | Compensate, Recompense |
