Dehradun : Uttarakhand is set to introduce a new approach to middle school education that focuses on real-world skills and inculcates entrepreneurial thinking from an early age. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Uttarakhand, has partnered with Udhyam Learning Foundation to roll out the Kaushal Bodh programme across more than 4,000 government schools for students in Grades 6 to 8, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
With this initiative, Uttarakhand becomes the first state in India to create a continuous, government-led learning pathway from Grade 6 to Grade 12 focused on building an entrepreneurial mindset and future-ready skills at scale. This pathway begins in middle school with Kaushal Bodh and then progresses into the Kaushalam programme already running in over 2,200 schools for Grades 9 to 12, where students build and run real ventures and take on real-world challenges. By design, this progression allows students to develop these capabilities over time, helping them steadily build confidence, initiative, decision-making ability and ownership, qualities that remain valuable regardless of the career path they eventually choose.
Developed by PSSCIVE, NCERT and aligned with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, Kaushal Bodh is an activity-based programme for Grades 6 to 8, structured around nine modules across Life Forms, Machines and Materials, and Human Services. In classrooms, students will work in teams to build and test simple ventures, learn how ideas turn into real products or services, and see firsthand how decisions affect outcomes. This approach shifts students from passive learning to active creation, helping them develop habits of initiative, responsibility and ownership from an early age.
Under the partnership, SCERT Uttarakhand and Udhyam Learning Foundation will support teacher training and classroom implementation at scale, enabling teachers to run structured learning journeys that emphasise learning by doing, experimentation and continuous improvement.
In senior grades, the Kaushalam programme has already shown encouraging outcomes. Under the Grade 11 curriculum, students worked on over 1,500 business project ideas, with more than 350 showcased at district-level expos and the top 47 presented at the state-level expo. Following this, over 10 students have continued their ventures and are now earning through them. One such student, Dhruv from GIC Nathuawala, has collaborated with FabIndia and is supplying his designed garments, while Sameer from GIC Baadwala is developing dairy products and supplying them to nearby markets. Extending this approach to middle school allows these capabilities to be developed earlier in age-appropriate ways and strengthened steadily through high school.
“Between Class 6 and Class 12, children are not just learning; they are forming habits of thinking. When, year after year, students are encouraged to notice problems, take initiative, test ideas, and reflect on outcomes, that way of engaging with the world becomes natural to them. Six years of such learning can quietly rewire how young people respond to uncertainty. Instead of waiting for instructions or answers, they begin to look for possibilities, make choices, and act. That shift – from being told what to do to believing ‘I can figure this out’, is what stays with them long after school ends, building the character and confidence necessary to thrive in an uncertain world.” said Mekin Maheshwari, CEO and Co-founder, Udhyam Learning Foundation.
“Kaushal Bodh aligns with NEP 2020 by integrating vocational education into middle school through hands-on, project-based learning that connects knowledge with real work. For students in Uttarakhand, it builds practical skills and local relevance, and is designed to equip school leaders and teachers with practical strategies to integrate skill-based learning into classroom teaching,” said Mr. Sunil Bhatt, Program Coordinator – Kaushal Bodh, SCERT Uttarakhand
“Kaushal Bodh strengthens the vision of NEP 2020 by bringing vocational and skill-based learning into the middle school years through structured, activity-based pedagogy. The programme connects classroom learning with real-world application and equips teachers with practical tools to build problem-solving, initiative and responsibility among students. For Uttarakhand, this is an important step towards making education more relevant, experiential and future-ready across government schools,” said Bandana Garbyal, Director, Academic, Research and Training (ART).
