Technical Vocational Curriculum at Mainstream Secondary Schools

Abstract

Pakistan is considered to be one of the rich countries in terms of human resource, especially in case of youth population. According to the census report of 2017 the population of Pakistan under the age of 15 years is 29%. This bulk of population can be a blessing if they are educated and professionally trained to become active members of socioeconomic development of the country. Especially in this era we must prepare the youth of Pakistan to become economically active. At the age of 15 years, ideally the young population should be at secondary school level. This is the stage where there is huge dropout of students from the mainstream education. This research is conducted for two major purposes one is to identify the curricular change for making the school education more meaningful, relevant and empowering the youth of Pakistan and second purpose is to recommend those changes which may make education an
investment in the future. To fulfill these purposes the study was designed with mixed method approach, including document analysis, elite interviews and survey. All data sources were used to review and analyze the current situation of technical and vocational education in Pakistan, identify the changes required and recommend curricular changes at secondary school level. The article is one part of a bigger study which has included policy analysis as well as education to promote art and craft. This article only focuses on the part of technical and vocational curriculum recommended to be offered at secondary schools