• Jan Shikshan Sansthan (formerly known as Shramik Vidyapeeth) have a challenging mandate of providing vocational skills to non-literate, neo-literates as well as school drop-outs by identifying skills that have a market in the region of their establishment.
• The JSSs are unique, they link literacy with vocational skills and provide large doses of Life Enrichment Education (LEE) to the people.
• They aim for convergence with other stakeholders in society. It is their endeavour to shape their beneficiaries into self reliant and self-assured employees and entrepreneurs.

Recently, comprehensive reforms for Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) were released, to further strengthen the skills ecosystem benefiting those in the underprivileged sections of society. The new norms are expected to help identify and promote traditional skills in the district through skilling / upskilling; create livelihood linkages and boost training of trainers to develop the capacity through National Skills Training Institutes.

Key highlights of the guidelines are:

• Alignment of JSS course and curriculum to National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) to standardize training.
• Decentralization of powers for JSSs- giving more accountability and independence to district administration.
• To identify and promote traditional skills in the district through skilling / upskilling;
• Evidence based assessment system.
• Easy Online certification.
• Linking JSS to PFMS (Public Finance Management system) maintaining transparency and accountability of the ecosystem
• Creating livelihood linkages.

The new guidelines re-energize and reinvigorate the JSS as

• They have been reformed keeping in mind the diverse stake-holders engaged in running these institutions.
• The JSS can play an important role in bridging information asymmetry between skill training and market opportunities thereby giving an impetus to the creation of a workforce equipped in technology-driven skills, including in areas like health & wellness, tourism, e-commerce, retail and trade.
• By aligning JSSs to the National Skill Framework, the government aims to provide standardised training across sectors.
• This is an important step towards the convergence of all skilling activities under the aegis of one ministry, bringing in transparency and accountability to the entire skilling ecosystem.
• Out of the 247 active JSSs, we already have 43 JSSs established across 42 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog.
• A few more in the LWE (left-wing extremism affected) regions will be soon introduced to promote skill development of the youth in the region and help them connect back into mainstream economy.

Conclusion:

JSS has the potential to boost skill training and entrepreneurship in the remotest corners of the country. It can further strengthen the skills ecosystem benefiting those in the underprivileged sections of society.