India Unveils Framework for National Vocational Education

In an unusually quick adoption of a government higher-education plan, India on Saturday unveiled its National Vocational Education Qualification Framework with the goal of educating 200 million students in various trades starting in 2012, reports the Daily News & Analysis. The program will start at ninth grade in high schools, and there will be several levels of certification at the university level. The framework will prepare students to start jobs after graduating high school and then offer them the opportunity to come back to continue their education at universities. Government officials hope the framework will make vocational training more palatable to young Indians, who usually shun such courses.