Hope for deprived students

Ranchi, April 26: The state administration is planning to revive its free vocational training programmes for boys and girls belonging to deprived sections of the society with help from premier institutes like IIM-Ranchi, XLRI-Jamshedpur and BIT-Mesra.

The state welfare department is chalking out a blueprint for the training meant for those belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC), minorities and backward classes.

The programmes were on hold for two years after the state burnt its fingers by sending 29 students for commercial pilot training to two aviation cradles at Hyderabad and Vilaspur that did not have requisite sanction from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to run the courses. The training was subsequently stopped midway.

“Now, we want to start things afresh. We have primarily decided to provide vocational training to aspiring commercial pilots, start diploma-level courses for secondary and higher secondary pass-outs and short-term training programmes on plumbing, electric work and other vocations for school dropouts,” state’s tribal welfare commissioner Rajesh Kumar Sharma told The Telegraph.

This apart, there will be training on auxiliary nursing and midwifery, general nursing and midwifery and also BSc (nursing) courses, especially for girls.

“We are seeking expert advice from institutes like IIM-Ranchi, XLRI-Jamshedpur, BIT-Mesra, ISM-Pundag and Indo Danish Tool Room, Gamharia (Seraikela-Kharsawan) before finalising things,” Sharma added.

Today, IIM-Ranchi director M.J. Xavier was present at a meeting held to discuss the plan at Tribal Research Institute in Morabadi.

“Preliminary discussions were held. We will extend all possible help to the state administration to ensure the success of this laudable endeavour,” Xavier said.

However, XLRI representatives could not join the discussions as they got stuck in a road blockade on Jamshedpur-Ranchi road near Chowka in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

According to sources, while a sum of Rs 12.5 crore has been earmarked for the training in 2013-14, funds to the tune of about Rs 10 crore, set aside for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscals ears each, are lying unutilised.

Sharma said they were planning to first complete the training of 26 students who were sent to the Hyderabad and Vilaspur aviation cradles.

Two institutes — Saraswati Aviation Academy of Uttar Pradesh and Chimes Aviation Academy of Madhya Pradesh — have responded to the welfare department’s bid to rope in an academy with requisite clearances from the DGCA.

“We are preparing a draft of the MoU that will be signed between the selected agency and the state for providing commercial pilot training. The old students will first complete their training and if the performance of the selected agency is good, we will retain it,” Sharma said.