Soon, NIRF-like ranking for nearly 15,000 ITIs to boost skilling quality

According to government data, as of now, nearly four out of five ITIs are privately run in the country

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is soon going to release the first-ever ranking of nearly 15,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country, a senior government official said.

Similar to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for higher education, these ITI rankings will be conducted annually to help prospective students and employers better assess the quality of these skilling institutes, the official said.

The move coincides with the recent Budget announcement of a new scheme aimed at skilling 2 million youth over five years, with 1,000 ITIs to be upgraded in hub-and-spoke arrangements focused on outcomes.
 

“To incentivise both the government and privately run ITIs to better their performance, we are developing a data-based system for their evaluation, followed by rating and ranking, which is the only democratic way of improving the current situation of ITIs,” the official said.
 

The skill ministry will unveil the rankings in the next two months (by the end of October) and all the private and government ITIs will be ranked, the official added.

 

According to government data, nearly four of five ITIs are privately-run. 

Data from the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT), which regulates vocational education, shows only 47 per cent (1.24 million) of the 2.6 million available seats in 2022 were utilised.
 

“The proposed rankings will be released annually and will be based on data from the NCVT portal, which takes into consideration factors such as examinations, number of women, pass percentages, and availability of teachers and trainers. Besides, the rankings will form part of the challenge method that will be used to select 1,000 ITIs to receive funding for upgradation under the newly announced centrally sponsored scheme in the Budget,” the official said.
 

The total Budget outlay for this scheme is Rs 60,000 crore, with Rs 30,000 crore from the Centre, Rs 20,000 crore from states, and the rest expected to be mobilised by industry.
 

“The Budget brought back focus on ITIs, which need upgradation with the changing times. Previous interventions were not so optimal in terms of finances. The rankings will help the institutions assess their courses and curricula and redesign them keeping the industry demand in sight,” the official said.

The move to rank ITIs follows earlier attempts by the Directorate General of Training, a regulatory body under the ministry, which began grading ITIs in 2017. Phase 1 of grading used 43 parameters grouped into 10 categories, while Phase 2, launched in 2019, used 27 parameters across five categories.

The grades are valid for five years, and ITIs with a grade of 2.5 or higher can apply for new trades/units through the affiliation portal. Private ITIs with a grade of 2.5 or higher and government ITIs with a grade of at least 2 are eligible for financial support under the Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement project, a World Bank-assisted programme launched in 2017 to upgrade 500 ITIs.