CHITWAN: More and more students in Chitwan district have been found attracted towards taking up vocational education and building career in the technical field. As a result, there are growing numbers of schools and colleges being established and offering several vocational education and technical training.

As the courses in the vocational education are time-bound and ensure jobs replacements in no time upon graduation, more and more SEE graduates are opting for vocational education in their higher education.

There are currently a total of 15 technical schools and colleges running 60 programmes for 18-month veterinary JTA and civil overseer and 16 for TSLC.

According to Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT)'s Regional Director Shiva Hari Dhakal, around 2,300 students from Chitwan district and Gaindakot in Nawalpur enrol in these technical colleges on an annual basis.

The CTEVT has its own constituent college at Bharatpur, Chitwan. The private colleges here too have been running vocational education in affiliation with the CTEVT.

The CTEVT's constituent school, School of Health Science's Principal Achyut Dahal shared that the school has been offering educational programme on health, engineering and agriculture.

Students from all parts of the countries except for districts in the eastern part of the country and northern Manang district come and try their luck in the School. Of them, only 10 per cent get through the admission in the School, according to Principal Dahal.

Similarly, Nepal Polytechnic Institute's Principal Dr Baburam Upadhyay said that the school in its initial phase did not find an adequate number of students interested in technical education. The school, on the contrary, gets a disproportionately higher number of applicants thronging to study in this School.

Various 19 different educational programmes — some 18-month courses while some three-years — are being offered in the School. The School boats of a total of 7,700 graduate students so far who, according to Principal Upadhyay, have achieved cent per cent job replacement upon their graduation.

Executive Chair of Shree Medical and Technical College, Bharatpur, Saroj Dhakal said, abroad migration is the destination of the most of Nursing students while graduates of other technical education programmes are likely to get jobs easily and technical education provides them with a platform for becoming self-employed.

According to Forum for Health Science, district chair Dhruba Kafle, a large number of students are attracted towards the technical education as it facilitates students with opportunities for pursuing higher degrees.

Similarly, among the passed ones, 50 per cent join the civil service, 30 per cent chose to earn the status of self-employed, 10 per cent join the non-government offices while remaining 10 per cent are abroad settlers.

Of late, community schools and colleges have started technical education classes. Principal of Maiyadevi Kanya (Girls) Campus, Krishna Neupane, said all interested have not opportunity to seek a career in nursing.

Chandramani Kandel, a student who completed a course in technical education programme from the CTEVT said technical educations graduates are less likely to face unemployment problems.

Bearing in mind the importance of vocational and technical education and its utility, the government has announced to expand the scope of technical education at the local level.