Indian Skills Report (ISR) in a research conducted on Indian graduates and employability in 2021 identified that only 45.9 percent of graduates have the necessary skills needed to be employed.  This stat stood at 47.38 percent in 2019. It goes to show that the Indian education system has a long way to go if it has to become employability oriented. The lack of student-centricity in the curriculum has been a key cause for the skill gap. Dating back its origins to the late 1950’s in the US, competency-based education (CBE) or competency-based learning is a unique outcome-based and learner-centric educational method that can help Indian educators and policy makers to bridge this prevalent skill-gap.               

Student-centricity at its Core      

Through demonstrations of the required skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values, CBE is able to prepare the students for real world challenges by the time they graduate.  Not only does CBE streamline the curriculum by focusing on the core skills and knowledge that can positively impact the future of students, it also helps the students practice the skills they have learned. Aside from that, CBE allows the students to progress at their own pace which makes them more independent and helps them take ownership of their learning.                

An excellent case study of a competency-based learning system is MC2 (Making Community Connections Charter School), which is a public, tuition-free, charter school from New Hampshire, USA where students from different communities are represented. This student-centric and knowledge-driven educational institution has implemented a unique teaching-learning methodology, where advisors at the institute will learn along with the students. Aside from that, at MC2, assessments are done with the primary motive to better understand the students and their learning curve. The school leadership has also given ample space and freedom to the learners so that they can solve problems on their own.               

Individualized attention

By focusing primarily on the measurable competencies, CBE not only allows teachers to  pay individualized attention that can directly impact the personal growth of the students but it can also help the teachers streamline their workflow.  With that said, CBE will also push teachers to be more proactive as in this educational model, it is crucial that teachers keep track of both the progress and needs of each individual student.  

Purdue Polytechnic, Indiana, USA is a great example of how CBE positively impacted the teaching-learning community of an institute. The teachers of the institute decided to use real-world challenges in order to teach problem solving and develop critical thinking capabilities in their students. This approach of focusing on the core competencies helped the institute improve the quality and effectiveness of their education multifold. Aside from that, the teachers and students at Purdue Polytechnic came up with a plan to schedule time for individual learning and group instruction which helped both the teachers and students to identify the gaps of each learner and address it accordingly.     

Changes in Student Assessments

CBE advocates the usage of technology in classrooms not only for knowledge sharing but also when it comes to student assessments. For this, teachers can use popular digital assessment tools such as Google Forms, Socrative, Poll Everywhere, and Mentimeter. Teachers can use Poll Everywhere to do a multitude of things starting from taking attendances to getting a better understanding of the standings of each student including the areas where they struggle.            

Nurturing a CBE Ecosystem

Successful implementation of CBE can never be a one-man job and it requires a joint effort from the school system, school leadership, and the teachers. Getting everyone on board and establishing equity is fundamental for the implementation of CBE. Here, equity means to give every student the same opportunity to succeed by addressing each of their concerns individually.  

Lindsay Unified in California, USA is regularly recognized as one of the best examples when it comes to offering competency-based education to their learners. This school district had foresight into the growing importance of CBE and it has been following it for well over a decade now. The success  it had over the years can be directly attributed to the common vision, the educators, school leaders, and teachers in that district shared on implementing CBE and bringing its benefits to each student.          

More than just imparting theoretical education, skilling should be given top priority in a developing nation like India. Talking on the same, last year, Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan stated that “The ministry will focus on creating youth who have knowledge and are employable”. The minister also added that “skilling is no longer a secondary ancillary to education in India”.  And in order to achieve this goal, CBE is a great tool that the Indian education system can leverage to create a skilled workforce.