Kerala to open 210 skill development centres for school dropouts

NEW DELHI: The Kerala General Education Department, in collaboration with Samagra Shiksha Kerala, is set to open 210 skill development centres across the state.

The centres will focus on providing skill development training to students according to their aptitude and future job opportunities. Any student under the age of 21 who dropped out of school can apply for courses at the skill development centres.

The centres will also provide orientation on jobs in their preferred fields and related developmental areas to school students who have completed their Class 12, Samagra Shiksha Kerala said in a statement.

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Kerala general education minister V Sivankutty will inaugurate the construction of the skill development centres on Tuesday, in Thiruvananthapuram.

The centres are being launched under the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) programme which receives financial support from the World Bank.

Launched in January 2021 with a USD 500 million loan from the World Bank, the STARS project is a central government programme that “will focus on enhancing state capability” in six states -- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Participating states can access funds based on their performance on a “matrix” of five parameters and subcomponents. Educationists have earlier questioned both this system of “result-based financing” and the choice of components or “outcomes” the scheme will reward.