Abstract:

Introduction:
It has been estimated via studies that by the year 2020, India will become the world’s “youngest country” with 64% population in working age group. Current predictions suggest a steady increase in the youth population to 464 million by 2021. This huge army of youngsters can be transformed into a vital asset or a liability to themselves as well as to the country, depending on the proactive steps to be taken by the educators and the society at large. As now young Indians achieve more years of education than their parents, this calls for urgent need of understanding the relevance of ethical reasoning by incorporating life skill programs via scholastic as well as co-scholastic activities like role plays, discussions, skills rehearsal and group activities, throughout the year in a planned and cohesive comportment. Hence systematic and comprehensive Planning for all stages of the program, from need assessment through institutionalization of the program, will become the key to its sustainability. Life skills help in character development and in transforming the youth into responsible citizen. Life skills have been defined by the WHO (World Health Organization) as “abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.

Research Methodology:
Keeping up with the pace of quality in the field of Teaching Excellence via TQE, (Total Quality Excellence) is a flavor to education spectrum. We tend to analyse the effectiveness of these programs and also analyse the teacher’s central role as a facilitator in providing guidance and counselling in shaping personality of the students and helping them adopt the necessary skills. The sample of the study was 800 students between the age group of 6-15 years and were divided into 03 categories: Grade I & II, Grade III to V, Grade VI to X. The study adopted a descriptive survey design, the responses were collected in the form of questionnaires and FGD (Focus Group Discussion) and interviews and categorized to analyse in SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Assessment of student learning demonstrated that students used a process of deliberation and reflection in responding to ambiguous conditions. Results of these enforced program evaluations have revealed that Life Skills enriched curriculum: helps in promoting ethical behavior along with cognitive development, aids in decision making aspects, prevents high risk sexual behaviors, teaches anger management, inculcates self and intrinsic discipline, improves academic performance, and promotes positive social adjustment with the art of effective communication and interpersonal skills. In a nut shell, both skills development and informational content are necessary components for an effectual program. The priority is to catch them young and innocent and transform our students into the tomorrow’s effective workforce with sound skills and strong ethics, thus making them the demand force rather than the liability to explore the resources as natives.

Keywords:

Life Skills, effectual, cognitive, intrinsic, cohesive.