MCVC course not providing jobs, faces closure

Mumbai: With FYJC admissions under the offline process starting on Wednesday, the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) has sent a proposal to the skill development ministry to discontinue the Minimum Competency Vocational Course (MCVC) for class 11 and 12, and convert it into an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) course.

Officials said that while the intake capacity is 75,000 seats, only 50 per cent seats are filled and as students completing the course find very few takers in terms of placements, the course is not serving its purpose. According to ministry sources, it is yet to take a call on the same but may not discontinue the course this year as FYJC admissions will start soon.

Speaking about the MCVC course, an officer from DVET said that the proposal had been sent to the ministry nearly a month ago as the course was not serving its purpose. “The course had been introduced by the state government in 1988 with the intention to promote and provide learning in technical fields. The course was introduced at the FYJC and SYJC level as many students did not pursue further education after HSC. The intention was to make the student self-sufficient and capable of taking up a skill-based job after HSC,” he said.

However, over the past 30 years since the course has started, students tend to go for graduation once they complete HSC, hence there are few takers for the course. According to data provided by DVET, only 35,000 seats for MCVC across the state get filled which indicates the dwindling interest among students. Apart from studying up to graduation, students also find it difficult to get placements after completing MCVC. “Placements are a meagre three per cent,” informed the DVET officer.