Low enrolment in UP Board challenges vocational courses

Prayagraj: At a time state and the central govts are pushing hard to strengthen skill development to youth, UP Board is planning to make vocational education mandatory across more than 29,000 schools in the state. But authorities face 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.According to the board examination 2026 data, not a single student opted for any of four vocational courses offered at High school level, while in Intermediate, 15 vocational subjects recorded zero enrolment. This includes 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 too failed to attract a single student.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 the trend, including 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.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, the figures are negligible.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 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.