Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part M (2025)

The NEP 2020 is a transformational response to the way India looks at education. The most innovative part of the programme is its incorporation of skill training and vocational education into the mainstream school and higher education curricula. Vocational education, which was undervalued for so long, is now acknowledged as a major vehicle for improving employability, entrepreneurship and economic productivity. The policy suggests introducing vocational training right at the sixth grade, and pragmatic exposure through bagless internship, hands on learning, apprenticeship for internships etc. This paper critically appraises the conceptual vision and implementation realities of vocational education through NEP 2020, so as to discuss how far are we over 2020-2024. Utilizing Indian academic sources, government data and implementation reports the paper examines the success, difficulties and regional disparities in skill-based education reform. It also helps to bridge the systemic infrastructure, teacher capacity, curriculum integration and digital inclusion gaps. The results suggest that, although the policy is a radical one, its implementation is patchy especially in poorer states and rural areas. The paper contends that it will be futile to expect desired outputs from the NEP 2020 without making judicious efforts to address policy awareness, industry-academia collaboration and investment in vocational ecosystems. Lastly, the paper provides some policy suggestions to enhance scale, quality and equity in vocational education in India.