Since Lord Macaulay famously pronounced that the prime objective of his Minute on Indian Education (1835) was to produce note-taking clerks for the smooth function of the British raj, there’s been a persistent and consistent bias in Indian society against vocational education and skills training. Though through the freedom movement, Mahatma Gandhi strongly advocated educating “head, heart and hands” of children and emphasised revival of India’s ancient and traditional vocational arts and crafts, the Macaulian educational system had already struck root. In post-independence India too, it continued to flourish with education policy makers paying scant attention to hands-on vocational and skills training. This perhaps explains why India has the worst DIY (do-it-yourself) culture globally.
Belatedly though, the sustained neglect of hands-on skills training in the K-12 education system is being addressed. In 2016, the Central government’s NITI Aayog launched the Atal Innovation Mission under which Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) — “a workspace where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode” — will be set up in schools across the country. Over the past seven years, 10,000 ATLs have been established in schools countrywide reaching an estimated 7.5 lakh children.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — promulgated after an interregnum of 34 years — also makes a determined effort to address the prolonged prejudice against hands-on skills education. It mandates compulsory vocational education for all class VI-VIII children. It states that students should take courses in important vocational crafts such as carpentry, electric and metal work, gardening, pottery, etc and intern with local craftsmen such as carpenters, gardeners, potters, artists, etc. NEP 2020 sets an ambitious target of at least 50 percent of all children and youth learning a vocational skill/trade by 2025.
With hands-on skills education becoming the flavour of the season, in our May cover story we present DIY activities for children which also boost their problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork skills. Though because of space constraints, our suggested list of DIY activities is restricted, we strongly advise parents to encourage children to work with local vocational experts such as carpenters, gardeners, electricians, automobile mechanics, potters, artists to learn creative hands-on skills. Inculcating a DIY culture early on will enable children to become self-sufficient in managing small car and household repair jobs as is de rigueur in developed countries.
There’s much else in this summer issue of PW. Check out our Early Childhood column by consultant pediatrician Dr. Kumar T.V. explaining the common nutritional deficiencies in toddlers and the antidote, and Special Essay highlighting the phenomenon of parental alienation and why it should give way to shared parenting.
