UP’s ‘Learning by Doing’ is gaining ground: 5 lessons it can learn from Germany

In Uttar Pradesh’s government schools, a quiet reform is taking shape—one where students trade textbooks for tools, and science periods end not with recitations but with solar lamps, pulleys, and planted seed trays.

This is Learning by Doing (LBD), a vocational experiment embedded within the school curriculum. It doesn’t carry the glamour of coding bootcamps or the heft of engineering diplomas. But its aim is foundational: To introduce skills to students not as an alternative, but as a part of learning.LBD, introduced through government schools, is an early-stage yet structured attempt to make classrooms more skill-oriented.

While the model is entirely local and meant for students of Class 6 to 8, it shares certain thematic resonances with Germany’s dual education system, globally recognised for seamlessly blending classroom theory with hands-on training in actual workplaces.There is no official blueprint linking the two. Yet, in spirit, the comparison is instructive. Germany spent decades refining a vocational pathway that connects school with employment.

UP is laying that foundation within classrooms—using tools, teachers, and time.

Learning by Doing in UP: How it was born

The Learning by Doing (LBD) programme was born out of a simple but powerful idea that students retain more when they experience learning, not just listen to it. It aligns with the National Education Policy 2020’s call for integrating vocational exposure into regular schooling. The materials are replenished through School Management Committees, and the programme is fully state-funded under Samagra Shiksha.

Since its launch, LBD has been rolled out in phases.

The pilot, introduced in 2023–24, covered 60 government schools across 15 districts and reached close to 6,000 students. Encouraged by increased attendance and visible classroom engagement, the state expanded it in 2024–25 to 2,274 schools—one for each block and urban area across all 75 districts. A further 3,288 schools will be covered under Samagra Shiksha and PM SHRI schemes in 2025–26, taking the total number of schools under LBD to over 5,500 within three academic years.

What are UP students learning?

At the core of the programme is a modular skill curriculum embedded in the daily timetable. Students in Classes 6 to 8 (ages 11 to 14) learn how to wire a basic circuit, operate hand tools, grow micro-gardens, cook simple nutritious meals, and even build rudimentary machines. Each school receives a toolkit with 205 items to facilitate 60 hands-on activities across five themes: Woodwork and metalwork, agriculture and horticulture, energy and environment, health and nutrition, and simple engineering models.

No fancy robotics, no imported kits—just saws, screwdrivers, soil trays, and an invitation to tinker.The manual guiding these activities has been developed in partnership with UNICEF and Vigyan Ashram, and approved by SCERT. It consists of sixty structured modules that teachers can plug into their weekly schedules without disrupting the core curriculum.These tasks are not meant to train children for a job market—they are designed to familiarise them with the logic of doing.

Each activity builds a concept, and each concept builds confidence.

How it’s taught: Teachers as facilitators, not lecturers

In the Learning by Doing model, the teacher no longer stands at the centre of the room with a chalk and a blackboard. Instead, they move between workstations, watching, guiding, stepping in only when needed. Before the programme begins, science and math teachers undergo a four-day training module. It's not about delivering lectures. It's about managing tools, ensuring safety, facilitating group work, and letting students learn through trial.The classroom is organised into small groups. Each group gets a set of tools, raw materials, and a task to complete—whether it’s wiring a simple circuit or planting a row of seeds. The instructions are clear, but the outcomes aren’t always predictable. That’s the point. Students are encouraged to explore what happens when things don’t go as planned.The infrastructure is modest but managed. Kits are funded by the state.

Materials and consumables are replenished through School Management Committees.

Germany’s Dual System: Bridging education and employment

The dual education system in Germany is not just a feature of its schooling structure—it’s a national employment strategy. Formalised through the Vocational Training Act of 1969, and rooted in craft guild traditions that date back to the Middle Ages, the system integrates on-the-job training in companies with classroom instruction in vocational schools (Berufsschulen).Typically, students enter the dual system after completing their general education around age 16. They sign a formal apprenticeship contract with an employer, train three to four days a week in the workplace, and spend the remaining one to two days in vocational schools. These programmes span two to three and a half years, depending on the trade.The scope is vast: Germany recognises over 325 licensed occupations, from mechatronics and nursing to logistics, hospitality, and information technology.

Apprentices receive a monthly stipend, increasing each year, and enjoy full social benefits—health insurance, accident coverage, and unemployment protection.On completion, students sit for a final exam administered by regional Chambers of Commerce (IHK) or Chambers of Crafts (HWK). The certification is not symbolic—it’s legally recognised, respected by employers, and portable across the European Union.Teachers in Berufsschulen hold specific pedagogical qualifications and subject-matter expertise. In workplaces, trainers (Ausbilder) are themselves certified and licensed to supervise apprentices, ensuring instructional consistency across both sites.Today, over 500,000 apprentices train annually in the system, supported by more than 430,000 companies—from small bakeries to multinational engineering firms.

Around 60% of apprentices are retained by their employers after graduation. The result: one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe, and a deeply skilled mid-level workforce that anchors Germany’s manufacturing and service industries.

A lesson or two for UP’s Learning by doing

To be clear, LBD is not Germany. It does not aspire to mirror the dual model in scale or structure. But in spirit, it shares the idea that skills are not separate from education—they are central to it. And in that spirit, LBD can borrow a few threads:1. Exposure to workplaces Even brief visits to farms, workshops, or small industries can bridge the gap between classroom activity and real-world applications.

Students could document what they see, build mini-models, or write reports—linking observation to action.2. Recognition and micro-certification While Germany offers full qualifications, UP could begin by issuing certificates of competence for each skill area by the end of Class 8. This would create a simple portfolio for students moving into secondary school or ITI tracks.3. Train-the-trainer ecosystem Germany’s system invests in both teachers and workplace trainers. UP could develop master trainers from its most experienced LBD teachers to mentor newer schools and update modules regularly.4. Industry involvement Germany’s employers co-design curricula and host apprentices. While LBD is school-based, UP could invite local ITIs, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, or artisans to review student projects, offer demonstrations, or co-create localised toolkits.5. Vertical linkages The success of LBD should not stop at Class 8. By linking it to existing vocational programmes in secondary schools or ITIs, UP could offer a seamless school-to-skill continuum, with LBD as the starting point.

A model worth building on

UP’s Learning by Doing doesn’t need to replicate the German blueprint. But it already represents a significant pedagogical shift—from memorisation to participation, from theory to touch. Its success lies not in grand policy statements but in simple outcomes: a student building her first solar lamp, a classroom debating how to recycle plastic waste, a teacher asking not “what is the formula” but “how do you test it?”Germany’s system took decades to perfect. UP has just started. But it’s a start worth investing in. Not just for jobs, but for joy in learning. Not just for skills, but for confidence in making. And that is a lesson any system—German or Indian—would do well to remember.