Prayagraj: At a time when both the state and central governments are pushing hard to strengthen skill development among youth, the Uttar Pradesh Board is planning to make vocational education mandatory across more than 29,000 schools in the state. However, authorities face a serious ground-level challenge as student enrolment in skill-based courses in classes X and XII has remained alarmingly low, raising questions over the effectiveness of implementation and outreach.
Alarming Enrolment Data
According to the board examination 2026 data, not a single student opted for any of the four vocational courses offered at the High School level. In Intermediate, 15 vocational subjects recorded zero enrolment. This includes a wide range of job-oriented disciplines such as land conservation, marketing and salesmanship, insurance, ceramics (pottery science), prosthetics and orthotics technology, hand block printing and vegetable dyeing, metal craft moulding, metal craft engraving, domestic electrical appliance repair and maintenance, retail trade, security services, mobile repairing, tourism and hospitality, IT/ITES, and healthcare. In High School, courses like electrician, disaster management, solar system repair, and mobile repairing also failed to attract a single student.
Structural Concerns
The figures highlight a deeper structural concern, as vocational education appears to be losing relevance among students in classes IX to XII. Experts point to multiple reasons behind this trend, including a lack of trained instructors, inadequate infrastructure in schools, and insufficient awareness efforts by education officials and teachers. There is also a perception that parents continue to prioritise traditional academic streams over skill-based learning during school education.
Marginal Enrolment in Some Courses
Even where enrolment exists, numbers remain unimpressive and marginal. In class XII, dairy technology saw enrolment of 33 students, beekeeping 16, embroidery 15, and English shorthand and typewriting 14. Other relatively better-performing courses include sericulture with 38 students, crop protection services with 159, cooperation with 45, and seed production technology with 152 students. Considering that 25,75,460 students registered in class XII, these figures are negligible.
Dominance of Traditional Subjects
Traditional academic subjects continue to dominate student preference, with general academic streams like basic subjects attracting 32,545 students, garment construction and design 3,975, and Hindi shorthand and typing 3,890. The data suggests a clear disconnect between policy intent and ground reality, with vocational education yet to gain meaningful traction in UP’s school system, despite its growing importance in employability and skill development.
