NEC to extend funding for skill development of youths
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 24 2014:
The North Easter Council (NEC) has decided to provide funds for skill development and training of youths of north east region for employment generation through agencies working in the field of skill development, a NEC release said today.
A meeting of the NEC officials held at its Secretariat today took the decision to involve agencies working in the field of skill development for employment and self employment and coaching for entrance exams in engineering, medical, law etc.
as well as for jobs in government like UPSC, SSC, CPO, Banks, Public Sector Undertakings and other private sector organizations.
The meeting held under the chairmanship of NEC member Prof.Ashoke K.Dutta was organised with the purpose of providing inputs for formulating the Regional Development Plan for Skill Development and Training of the Youths of North Eastern States.
Imparting training for this purpose would be done by inviting expression of interest, the release said, adding that the initiative will provide the advantage to the youth of the region to upgrade their skills and open opportunities for gainful employment and social upliftment.
The meeting was attended by NEC secretary Sh.
Ameising Luikham, NEC Officials and officials from the State Governments, Kaziranga University, Sahaj-E-Village Limited, NEITCO, SICB of Sikkim, Donbosco Technical School Guwahati, NIELIT, NERLP, NERCOMP, NSIC, SIRD Assam, NIRD Guwahati, NSE, IHM-Shillong and other private sector training institutes.
Discussing the strategy, Sh.
Ameising Luikham highlighted the various aspects of skill development and the need for various kinds of training programmes which include the Skill Development Initiative Scheme of the Ministry of Labour, while stressing the need for review of the various courses in ITIs, introduction of new courses, upgrade existing infrastructure and machineries etc with special focus on job availability within the region and also outside the region.
The need to strengthen the institutional mechanism for skill development in States on the lines of the Sikkim Institute of Capacity Building, which also covers trades for persons with class V qualifications was also discussed and stressed upon for other States to replicate the same model, the release informed.
Emphasising the need to have Incubation Centres within the ITIs and to have partnerships with other agencies like NSIC for promotion of entrepreneurship to facilitate availing of loans for setting up of units, Sh.
Ashoke K.Dutta urged the State Governments to provide their state specific inputs and suggestions to the NEC for incorporation into the overall design of the regional plan.
Sh.
Luikham pointed out that there is a need to consider special programmes like Udaan which was taken up by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the state of Jammu & Kashmir for the unemployed educated youths through the NSDC.
Meanwhile, Ameising Luikham, Secretary, NEC took a review of the ongoing NEC funded projects sanctioned under the HRD&E Sector, NEC and implemented in the NE states at a meeting on June 23.The meeting participated by officials of the concerned state government departments emphasised that the need for timely completion of the ongoing projects/schemes to achieve the desired objectives.
Another meeting on regional plan for the education sector was also held on June 23 under chairmanship of Prof.Ashoke K.Dutta in the presence of NEC member M.P.Bezbaruah and attended by Vice Chancellors of the Universities of Tripura, Nagaland, Dibrugarh and representatives from institutions like NEHU, Gauhati University, IIT, Gwahati, NERIE, UGC and officials from the State Governments.
The meeting discussed various aspects of education like the high school dropouts rates in all the states of the region, popularisation of teaching of science and mathematics including provisioning of laboratories especially at school level through modern methods, the need to provide hostels especially for far flung areas, teachers training, promotion of distance education, establishment of centres of excellence especially at the university level, incentives for attracting faculties, low private sector participation, etc.
In the meeting, Prof.Dutta stressed the need to use new technology for the education sector and a closer interaction between the industry and universities of the Region.