Lamenting the lack of flexibility in the country’s education system over the years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government was reorienting education and skilling according to the aptitude of the youth and the demands of the future.

Equal emphasis was being laid on both education and skilling as part of the New Education Policy and the step has garnered the support of teachers, he said, adding the move encouraged the government to undertake further reforms in the education and skilling sectors while unburdening students from the regulations of the past.

The PM was addressing a post-budget webinar on ‘Harnessing Youth Power – Skilling and Education’.  It is the third of a series of 12 post-budget webinars organised by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023.

Underlining the need for a skilled workforce, he declared that the world was looking at India as a manufacturing hub and noted the ”enthusiasm” among major nations about investing in this country.

He underlined the focus on skilling in this year’s General Budget and mentioned the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 that would skill, reskill and upskill lakhs of youth in the coming years. He informed that tailor-made programmes were being created according to the needs of tribals, differently-abled and women through this scheme.

Modi also highlighted the focus on creating a skilled workforce for Industry 4.0 sectors like AI, Robotics, IoT, and Drones, thereby making it easier for international investors to scout talent without having to spend much energy and resources on re-skilling.

He highlighted the importance of the role and partnership of academia and industry in bringing rapid changes in the education sector in India and underlined that research would be made possible according to the needs of the market while also creating room for adequate funding from the research industry.

The PM underlined that skill and education were the two principal tools during India’s ”Amrit Kaal” and it was the youth who were leading the nation’s ”Amrit Yatra” with the vision of a developed India.

Highlighting the focus on the youth and their future in the first budget of ”Amrit Kaal”, he said that this year’s budget strengthened the foundations of the education system by making it more practical and industry oriented.

Noting the experiences during the Covid pandemic, the PM underlined that new technology was helping create new types of classrooms. He noted that the government was focusing on tools that ensured ‘anywhere access to knowledge’ and gave the example of SWAYAM, an e-learning platform with three crore members. He pointed out the possibility of Virtual Labs and National Digital Libraries becoming a huge medium of knowledge. He also mentioned the opportunity to study in local languages through DTH channels and said that many such digital and technology-based initiatives were going on in the country which would get more strength from the National Digital University.

“Such futuristic steps are going to change the entire space of our education, skills and knowledge-science,” the PM said, adding “Now the role of our teachers will not be limited only to the classroom.” He mentioned that more variety of teaching material would be available for the country’s educational institutions from all over the country which would open new doors of opportunities for the teachers while filling the gap between village and city schools.

Throwing light on ‘on-the-job learning’, Modi noted the special emphasis by several countries and highlighted the efforts of the central government in providing focused internships and apprenticeships to give ‘outside the classroom exposure’ to its youth. “Today there are about 75000 employers on the National Internship Portal where requirements for 25 lakh internships have been posted so far,” he informed.

He urged the industry and educational institutions to make maximum use of this portal and further expand the culture of internship in the country.

The PM expressed the belief that apprenticeships would make India’s youth future-ready and highlighted the efforts of the government in promoting apprenticeships.

Throwing light on this year’s budget, the PM highlighted the provision of a stipend that has been made available for about 50 lakh youth under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.

Laying emphasis on the ‘whole of government’ approach, the PM said that education and skilling were not limited to the concerned ministry or department but their possibilities remain in every sector. He urged the stakeholders related to skilling and education to study these opportunities coming up in different sectors and help in creating the required workforce.