Jamshedpur, April 4: Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has decided to train para-teachers by airing recorded lectures on the radio.

Christened ?Mukta Samvad? (open dialogue), the half-an-hour programme that was aired for the first time today, on short-wave, is designed especially for the para-teachers.

Ignou officials said the programme will be aired from Mondays to Saturdays between 4.30 pm and 5 pm.

On Sundays, it will be more of an interactive session with Ignou experts on radio (through phone-in facility) from 12 noon to 1 pm, where the candidates can clarify any doubts on various subject modules.

After Chhattisgarh and Tripura, Jharkhand is the third state in the country which has started an Ignou curriculum. Regional director of Ignou P.V. Rupam told The Telegraph that they decided upon the radio because it is the most effective medium of communication in the rural areas.

According to Rupam, Ignou has set a target of training 30,000 para-teachers across the state within the next two-years.

?Most of the para-teachers appointed under the Jharkhand Education Project are not properly trained. The National Council for Teachers? Education (NCTE) has recently issued a directive that para-teachers should also have a diploma or a degree from a recognised institution before they can begin teaching.

?Experts including, professors of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), have agreed to support us,? said Rupam, ?Lectures are recorded and aired through the radio.?

He said the minimum educational qualification required for enrolling in the two-year diploma course is a pass certificate in intermediate examination. So far, 9,081 para-teachers have applied to Ignou to avail the course.

Ignou officials informed that the application forms for the course will be available at the various Ignou study centres and at the offices of the district superintendent of education (DSE). Candidates who have already enrolled can collect the study material from the Ignou study centres.