Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched the draft of National Credit Framework (NCrF) for public consultation on October 19.
Key points
The Government of India has developed the National Credit Framework (NCrF) to enable the integration of academic and vocational domains to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two.
- NCrF would open numerous options for further progression of students and inter-mingling of school and higher education with vocational education and experiential learning, thus mainstreaming skilling and vocational education.
- NCrF will also enable students who have dropped out of the mainstream education to re-enter the education ecosystem.
- NCrF will seamlessly integrate the credits earned through school education, higher education and vocational and skill education by encompassing the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF), National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and National School Education Qualification Framework (NSEQF).
- It also supports educational acceleration for students with gifted learning abilities and Recognition of Prior Learning for the workforce that has acquired knowledge and skills informally through the traditional family inheritance, work experience or other methods.
Proposed benefits for various stakeholders are as follows:
- Students: NCrF will ensure Flexibility in the duration of study/ courses through provisions of multiple entries and exit/work options as well as pave the path for creditisation of all learning hours, including academic, vocational and experiential learning.
- Institutions: NCrF will bring about a unification of higher education institutions to promote multidisciplinary education, creating a diverse and rich students knowledge base.
- Industry: NCrF will allow students to attain NSQF-approved foundational skills developed by industry and be more employable. The provision of micro-credentials will allow integration of quick educational upgradation/ up-skilling
