KATHMANDU: Breaking the stereo-typical academic education system, technical education is now increasingly becoming one of the most preferred educational programmes among students. The main concern of this apprenticeship system of learning is to give practical and training based education which helps to generate skilled human resources. This could be the best option for SLC graduates interested in skill-based learning programmes. Having comparatively shorter course duration, this education programme offers many opportunities for students to get exposed to technical skills, knowledge and training needed to succeed in specific careers or occupations. Besides that, it leads to easy recruitment in the related field. The other advantage is that students who have failed the SLC exam, but have passed send-up exams can also enrol in this kind of programme. However, the course duration in this case is longer. Citing that there has been tremendous growth in the number of students opting for technical studies in recent times, Jeeban Dahal, Director of Research and Information Division, Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) said, “Students are attracted to technical education as it is usually short-termed. Moreover, there are higher chances of getting employment or one can start-up his or her own entrepreneurial journey.” According to him, there is a high demand for skilled manpower globally. How-ever, the cost of technical education is comparatively high as the college has to employ different technical equipments for practical knowledge. Aimed at producing technical and skilled human resources, which is always highly in demand, there are various institutions affiliated to Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Pokhara University and Purbanchal University providing technical education in Nepal. However, the CTEVT, an autonomous body of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector is very popular. CTEVT provides three different types of scholarships - special scholarship, classified scholarship and merit-based scholarship. Under the special scholarship, altogether 75 students each year receive a scholarship of Rs 5000 each month throughout the academic years. Classified Scholarship is provided to deserving students among community or government schools, women, dalit, ethnic group, martyrs, former Kamaiya, Haliaya, conflict victims and underprivileged groups of people. And merit-based scholarship is provided to one best performing student in each programme from the entrance exam from among all the competitors who fill the forms as full fee payers in the CTEVT affiliated school and college. CTEVT offers programmes in three fields — Health, Engineering and Agriculture. Under Health, there are specific subjects like PCL Nursing, PCL General Medicine, PCL Medical Lab Technology, PCL Radiography, PCL Dental Science, Diploma in Pharmacy and so on. Likewise, under Engineering, there are subdivisions like - Diploma in Civil, Diploma in Mechanical, Diploma in Electronics, Diploma in Computer and so on. Similarly, Agriculture is subdivided into two specific subjects - ISc in Agriculture (Plant and Animal Science) and Diploma in Food Technology. There are two levels of academic programmes provided by CTEVT - TSLC programmes and Certificate/ Diploma level programmes. The eligibility for TSCL level, a 15 months course is SLC passed, whereas the 29 months course is for under SLC students. On the other hand, the entry requirement for the 3 years certificate or diploma level programmes is SLC passed at least in second division. Find out more on http://ctevt.org.np