VOCATIONALIZATION OF EDUCATION THROUGH RUSA

Abstract

India has a population of over 1.35 billion and a workforce of 460 million. To be able to provide employment to such a large number of people is a challenge, which becomes even more daunting as the population grows by more than 1.6 % every year. Unemployment by the current daily status measure is 6.2% of the labour force (NSSO Round 2009-10), which amounts to 27.6 million. In terms of demographics, almost 35% of Indians are younger than 15 years of age, whilst 18% fall within the age group of 15-24. The median age of India is 24 years , making it one of the youngest populations in the world. 54% of India’s rural workforce is self-employed (mainly in agriculture, 39%, but a significant share in non-agriculture, 15%), many of whom remain very poor. In urban areas, the self-employed constitute 42.6% (NSSO 2007-08), among whom the incidence of poverty may be lower, but high enough to be a source of concern. Nearly 36% in rural areas are either agricultural or other labor, usually casual workers. There are a negligible number of regular employees in rural areas, and in urban areas only about 13% are regular employees, of which two-fifths are employed by the public sector. More than 90% of the labour force is employed in the unorganized sector, i.e. sectors which don’t offer social safety and other benefits of employment in the organized sector.