Tata cradle skill training for 9000

RU vice chancellor LN Bhagat at a news meet on Friday. (Hardeep Singh)

Here’s a chance for National Service Scheme (NSS) students of Ranchi University to flaunt the prestigious name of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on their biodata.

TISS will provide job-oriented training to as many as 9,000 NSS students and award them certificates and diplomas. A team of TISS teachers and students held a meeting with Ranchi University officials on Friday and discussed how to go about selecting students for the training that is expected to begin from December.

“NSS students will get credits under the system. If a student gets 20 credits by the time he or she finishes graduation or postgraduation, TISS will award a certificate. If a student gets 40 credits, he or she will qualify for diploma and advanced diploma for 60 credits and above,” said Ezekiel Toppo, a professor of TISS.

A 15-hour class — either in classrooms or at the field — is counted as one credit.

Ranchi University is one of the nine varsities selected by TISS, with approval from University Grants Commission, where NSS will be slowly converted into National Service and Skill Development Scheme (NSSDS) by imparted training to students in different trades.

The others are Dr HS Gaur University (Madhya Pradesh), Hemchandracharya N Gujarat University, JNV University (Jodhpur), Magadh University (Gaya), Pt Ravi Shankar University (Raipur), Utkal University (Bhubaneswar), VBS Purvanchal University (Uttar Pradesh) and Marathwada University (Aurangabad).

Training will be provided in trades like carpentry, pottery, poultry, fishery, electrical and electronic, motor repair, fashion design, hospitality, tours and travels et al.

“It is part of a pilot project to convert NSS into NSSDS. The aim is to ensure that students, along with college degrees, get training in specific skills as well as certificates. This will enable them to get jobs soon after completing their courses,” said L.N. Bhagat, vice chancellor of Ranchi University.

The TISS team will now interact with industries and business organisations of the state and find out what kind of jobs it can offer to the students. It will also interact with students to find out about the kinds of training they want.

“After collecting data from industries, business organisations and students, we will compile a report on the fields in which training could be imparted. In most likelihood, the actual sessions will begin by December-end,” said Rohit Jain, an associate professor of TISS.