Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
News Excerpt
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) conducted a special Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program for workers, with the Department of Panchayati Raj (DoPR) in Chandauli and Varanasi. The programme is implemented under SANKALP Programme of MSDE.
Pre-Connect
• Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (“SANKALP”) is a programme of the Ministry of Skill Development with loan assistance from the World Bank.
• SANKALP has four key result areas viz: (i) Institutional Strengthening at Central, State & District level; (ii) Quality Assurance of skill development programmes; (iii) Inclusion of marginalized population in skill development programmes; and (iv) Expanding Skills through PPPs.
• SANKALP is funded through three major parts: (i) World Bank loan assistance (ii) States’ contribution and (iii) Industry contribution.
About Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
The programme promote decentralization and local governance for better planning and implementation of skill development programmes.
The implementing agency for the programme is National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Under the partnership, MSDE is supporting the State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs)/District Skill Committees (DSCs) in selection and onboarding of the PIAs and facilitating successful execution of the programme.
Analytica
Importance of RPL
About 70% of our country’s population resides in rural India and hence the inclusion of gram panchayats is crucial for the success of District Skill Development Plans and will provide a huge fillip to the Skill India Mission.
Through RPL, aim is to align the competencies of the pre-existing workforce of the country to the standardized framework.
Certification builds confidence, brings respect and provides recognition to the candidates, it has the potential to make skills aspirational.
Supporting formalization of the informal learning of youth will supplement their efforts in finding sustainable livelihood opportunities and reduce inequalities based on privileging certain forms of knowledge over others.
Conclusion
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programmerecognizes the value of learning acquired outside a formal setting and provides a government certificate for an individual’s skills.
Candidates receive exposure to concepts of digital and financial literacy and an accidental insurance coverage for three years at free of cost.’
This initiative is part of a larger programme on ‘Skill Development Planning at the level of ‘Gram Panchayat’ that focuses on introducing Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in a structured manner in GPs of various districts across the country.