NIOS and COL-CEMCA Draft Vision for Vocationalisation of Education in India

NOIDA, 3 September 2025

In a landmark development, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA) have jointly drafted a vision statement and created a roadmap, committing to vocationalising education for 1-1.5 crore people in India.

“By 2030, NIOS will set the benchmark for scalable, equitable, flexible, and technology-powered vocational education, preparing all learners for industry-aligned, future-ready skills for meaningful livelihoods and lifelong growth and for global placement.”

The vision statement and roadmap were developed during an envisioning workshop, which was jointly organised by NIOS and COL-CEMCA at the NIOS offices in NOIDA on 2 September 2025. The aim was to successfully scale up and implement vocational, skill-based training and the vocationalisation of education through various stakeholders, with NIOS in the lead.

The workshop, which led to the creation of the vision statement and roadmap, was chaired by Prof Dr Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, the Principal Consultant of COL-CEMCA. Key discussions included collaborations with industry partners for course development, certifying vocational skills courses, aligning with the national framework and bridging the skills gap, and empowering India's workforce.

Dr B. Shadrach, Director of COL-CEMCA, congratulated the participants for drafting the vision statement, which will be “collectively owned.” Calling it a “historic day for NIOS,” he highlighted the institute's pivotal role in the national education ecosystem, as emphasised in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Credit Framework (NCrF). “You are not just tackling an NIOS problem, but a national problem,” he said.

Earlier, Prof Akhilesh Mishra, Chairman of NIOS, highlighted the need for the complete vocationalisation of education. He underscored the huge wage difference in India due to a “lack of training, recognition, and certification.”

Moving forward, a national-level stakeholder meeting will be organised. This will involve conducting a skills gap analysis and course mapping. A questionnaire survey among the stakeholders will provide valuable insights, clarifying challenges and solutions for the future. Additionally, Accredited Vocational Institutions (AVIs) and Regional Centres of NIOS will be engaged to gather input, with the goal of propelling vocational education forward and extending its reach to millions of learners who will be job-ready upon completion of their courses.