The Development Management Institute (DMI) will start a course from January 18 to train government officials on how to ensure better implementation of rural development policies.
The six-month certificate course in participatory governance and indigenous development is aimed at officials responsible for executing such policies - such as block development officers, district programme officers and district education officers.
The course will be divided into two phases: three-and-a-half months of classroom teachings, and two-and-a-half months of field visits.
The field visits are aimed at having the officials interact directly with stakeholders of government schemes, learning the nuances and success rate of the ongoing schemes, and understanding the challenges in implementation.
"It is good that an institute is planning to launch a course on such a topic where the officials will be provided training how to implement a particular programme," a Bihar Education Project Council official said on condition of anonymity.
Such a course, the official said, will help government servants understand the practical problems of implementing government schemes, including manpower management.
DMI dean G Krishnamurthi said: "The theme of the course is 'upgrade the managerial skill of government officials' - so that there is better implementation of government programmes as per the local and rural requirements."
The DMI plans to launch the programme with a seminar, likely to be attended by principal secretaries and secretaries of departments such as education, rural development and urban development.
Sridhar Telidavara, an associate professor at DMI, said the basic premise of the course is that small producers' and marginalised people's livelihoods can be enhanced by having them interact with government institutions in an organised manner.
The DMI, which was set up in February 2014 along the lines of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat, also offers a two-year full-time postgraduate programme in development management.
