Kerala has notched a $100-million Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance to jack up employability of the state’s higher secondary and undergraduate students.
The RBL (results-based loan) is to support the $147-million ASAP (Additional Skill Acquisition Programme), that will help young people improve fluency in English, IT skills and learn market relevant in-demand vocational skills.
The Centre signed an MoU with ADB this week, in agreement of providing $100 million loan to fuel the ASAP programme.
Kerala will cough up the balance $47 million funds for realisation of the programme.
The loan is expected to benefit nearly 2,35,000 students during 2014-2018, chief secretary EK Bharat Bhushan said. The state faces high unemployment despite having the best education and health indicators in India. The state’s “educated unemployment” rate was at 7.4% in 2011-12, more than three times the national average.
The skill programme, launched in 2012, aims to tune up job prospects by complementing post-basic education through market-relevant vocational training and career counselling. ASAP has enrolled over 16,000 students and offers vocational training in 70 market relevant courses.