Some people say that in all levels of education, from primary schools to universities, too much time is spent on learning facts and not enough on learning practical skill. Do you agree or disagree?

A vast majority of the society, as well as employers, believes that the current

education

system emphasises more on non-vocational studies rather than on teaching specialised employable skills. I agree with

this

opinion as

this

lacuna hampers job prospects, and I firmly believe that schools and colleges should tweak the curriculum to include courses related to practical skills. Employers, while screening applicants for a vacancy, often get flustered as they come across students who have mostly acquired theoretical knowledge. It has been observed that companies prefer to select the candidates who have gained some on-the-job experience through internships.

Additionally

, students who have made efforts to append their

education

by attending vocational courses find it easy to get jobs. These vocational courses help students pick up the skills that can be used later in their careers. Findings from a recent survey of 500 companies, showcased that the preference of employers was more skewed towards students who had acquired skills related to work.

Furthermore

, often companies choose to grant pre-placement offers to students who have worked with them as interns during the semester break.

This

trend depicts that the selection criteria of employers are affected not merely by good academic grades, but tilts more towards skills that can be utilised at work. Parents, and students alike, are aware of

this

bias and are

therefore

consciously choosing electives that actually will be relevant in the workforce.

However

, it is

also

the responsibility of the school/ college to upgrade their curriculum to include compulsory electives that will help students gain an edge above their peers. Improving the course curriculum will immensely help the students to focus on specialised knowledge. It will

also

help the employers, as they will be spending less time in training the new fresh recruits, hired straight out of college. A recent article published in the Career Times showcased the jump in the jobs offered to students, who had completed at least one of the vocational courses. Short-term courses

such

as Effective Business Communication, Advanced Excel skills, Financial Modelling, Animation, etc. Companies believe that

such

skilled employees start contributing to the organisations' goals from day one. To conclude, we can see the importance of vocational studies in preparing a student and making them workforce ready. A progressive change like

this

is imperative to our current

education

system that will promote quality

education

,

thus

leading to gratifying careers.