Introduction of skill development courses, lesson in compassion by CBSE

Central Board of Secondary Education has introduced Skill-based courses that can help a student enter the job market soon after school. Along with this, , CBSE has also introduced a course, Compassionate Citizen, that has been designed to teach children to be kind to animals.

For skilled based courses, CBSE has shortlisted some private institutes which offer special training programmes for skill development. CBSE has also asked schools to tie up with these private institutes so that maximum number of students can take benefit out of it.

There would be 35 skill knowledge providers in 11 areas, including retail, information technology, security, automobile, banking and insurance, hospitality and tourism, mass media and media production, health and beauty, music production, design, and medical diagnostics.

“This course is essential for students to excel and emerge successful in real life situations of work. It will give them basic information of a working environment as they graduate from school. Skilled manpower and right exposure will help students to attain the best positions in various organisations,” said CBSE Chairman Vineet Joshi.
These courses are not compulsory. Students who are studying in CBSE School will be given a choice to opt for these courses along with the general academic subjects.
The “Compassionate Citizen” course, the CBSE said, has been designed because such a citizen is one who is not only well-behaved towards his fellow citizens, but also kind to the animals that share the planet.

This course has been designed by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for students aged between eight and 12 years. During this course students will be taught how to behave and respect animals and would be provided with information on how to be sensitive to animals’ rights and needs.
CBSE Chairman said that the Compassionate Citizen course might also be used for other age groups and as part of the languages, science, social studies environmental and value education course.