SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) on Saturday held a consultative meeting to discuss the development of vocational courses aligned with local employment opportunities and skill requirements in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting at JKBOSE headquarters in Bemina was part of the Board’s preparations for submission to the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) for Dual Recognition and its efforts to introduce a new vocational course in the agriculture sector.
The consultation brought together experts from vocational education and agriculture, including Director Vocational Education, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Dr T.N. Giri; Head of the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), NCERT, Bhopal, Prof V.S. Mehrotra; and representatives from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)-Kashmir, SKUAST-Jammu and the Agriculture Department.
According to JKBOSE, discussions focused on designing courses suited to local needs and emerging employment opportunities, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and tourism.
JKBOSE Chairman said the Board had received a Letter of Intent (LoI) from NCVET, making it among a limited number of boards in the country to reach that stage in the recognition process. He said the Board was focusing on skill-based education linked to local livelihood opportunities.
Director Academics JKBOSE, Dr Parveen Singh, stressed the need to align vocational education with labour market requirements and the socio-economic realities of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the initiative was in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes integration of vocational education and skill development into mainstream schooling.
Experts deliberated on curriculum design, competency-based learning, industry relevance, practical skills, assessment and certification mechanisms.
Officials said the consultation would help shape JKBOSE’s proposal for Dual Recognition under NCVET and support the development of a structured vocational education framework for schools across Jammu and Kashmir.