VOCATIONAL TRAINING ON THE TELEVISION

NEED FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING ON THE MEDIUM OF TELEVISION

It is well know that 70% of the school children who are admitted in Ist Standard do not go beyond the 8^th standard. They eventually join the labour market of the unskilled category. This cannot fulfill their aspiration for a better progress in life. The frustration can to some extent lead them towards other dubious methods of earning also.

2. The problem in terms of numbers is large. There is estimated population of 35 crores in the age group of 20 to 40 who can be considered job seekers and there is an annual increase of roughly 1.5 crores.

3. The problem of unemployment can be reduced to a large extent by ensuring a minimum level of semi skills with an added facility of opportunities at later occasions to upgrade the skills. The need for vocational education has been recognized in the country since many decades. However, its potential has not been assessed and hence the budgetary provision has been extremely meager. This meager budget is further marginalized by the fact that material and human resources needed for vocational training are 3 to 8 times more costly than the resources needed for a formal non-vocational school curriculum. This fact is often used for justification for not being able to provide better vocational education in the country.

4. In order to cap over the budgetary constraints let us examine three components of vocational educations from the view point of reduction in cost of resources. First component is that of theoretical understanding and this is necessary to the extent of 30%. Second component is of hands on training and the weightage for this is also roughly 30%. The third component is of learning through seeing and this component as has importance of weightage of 40%. It is in this third component the reduction in resource cost is possible by using the medium of T.V. which is an extremely powerful visual medium for the purpose of “learning through seeing”. If this medium is used then it is possible to reduce the cost of vocational component at least by 10 to 15 per cent. More importantly, for a large population who has on their own acquired some semi skills. This medium is extremely helpful to improve their proficiency and expertise. Even further it can be said that such an increase in proficiency would also lead to increased productivity and increased energy efficiency which two aspects have immense social benefits.

5. In view of this, it is being advocated in today’s topic that the Society must use the medium of T.V. for the purpose of skilled learning and reduced the pressure of unemployment.

6. Just by way of example, I would like to site the possibility of imparting one the minor skill for which the training must be completed in one month and employability increases almost instantly. This is the skill of imparting Marathi Typing Training on the computer by a hitherto unknown method that is not required previous knowledge, Roman method of the spelling and hence does not require the need to practice and get mastery over the present topsy-turvy English Key Board available with all computers. When I demonstrate this methodology on the T.V. and also take the viewers through initial few Marathi Lessons, it takes only 10 minutes of my time to do so. However, thousands of viewers can grab the training in this manner. It has been found there are Training Classes that the normal students who have passed 8^th to 10 standard and who were not very proficient with English are able to grasp this Marathi Key Board very quickly and a practice of about half an hour per day gives them speed of 20 w.p.m. within a month. If on the other hand they are also shown a video for every day’s class for 10 minutes then the same learning gets completed in 20 days. This is merely one example.

7. We can take the example of nursing courses. Out of the entire syllabus there is at least 50% of the course syllabus for which the training can be imparted through visual demonstration.

8. Then comes the question of employability. If the skilled training is to be imparted at least partly through the medium of T.V., then can there be a good review model which would attract T.V. channels to take up such skilled educational programmes? In my opinion the first requirement for any T.V. channel is the potential to entertain the audience and to ensure that there is attention remains with the show. Hence even a programme for vocational skilled education will have to have an element of entertainment or information or excitement which would hold the attention of the audience. For a good T.R.P. for a T.V,.Channel it is not sufficient that only a small section of population should be interested in their programme. Hence a T.V. programme for the purpose of imparting skilled education cannot be and should be focused entirely for the audience who are unemployed or unskilled or semi-skilled youth. The programme has to invoke such other aspects through the element of entertainment, information and excitement that will pull the attention of even the unconcerned audience. 
9. My personal and frank opinion is that it is possible to supply and execute such T.V. serials which will fulfill the above criteria. It is, therefore, a challenge for the private producers of the T.V. medium to take this subject. There is no doubt that such subject will require a lot of home work and a high level of authentication. It may therefore, not be a challenge for an average episode maker but definitely a worthy challenge for those who have creativity.

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