The four-storeyed building that will house the Bharat Sevashram Sangha institute. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

In an attempt to impart professional training to youths, Bharat Sevashram Sangha plans to offer various educational and professional courses through its Pranavananda Institute of Human Excellence.

The institute, currently operating from the Sangha?s premises, will be set up in the new-built estate on Rashbehari Avenue, head office of the Sangha. The institute will offer both certificate and diploma programmes in subjects like Indology, human values and yoga sciences.

Plans are also afoot to launch programmes in vocational training, career development, leadership for community development and disaster management. Along with these regular courses, the institute will also launch distance-learning courses.

?We will seek affiliation or recognition from some institution or university, so that after passing out, the students can get jobs. There will be proper classes and examinations for all recognised courses,? said Swami Biswatmananda, chief coordinator of the Sangha.

?All these courses will be offered at a concessional rates for the weaker section. We will also try to arrange for scholarships,? the Swamiji said.

In addition to this, multi-discipline professional training courses on self-employment programmes will also be offered. Workshops and practical training exercises on various subjects will be organised in Bengal, as well as in the northeastern states.

?We will conduct fortnight training camps, at which at least 25 students will be trained in a batch. During this period, they will stay here. We also want to train students from Dimapur, Nagaland. We will offer courses in social work and disaster management, so that these students are well-equipped to handle any sort of disaster or crisis, whether natural or man-made,? a Sangha spokesperson said.

The institute will come up in a four-storeyed building with 10,000-sq-ft space on each floor. Construction started two years ago, but was held up due to financial hurdles. The building will also house a library, a temple and a guest house. The institute plans to bring out a newsletter, souvenir and books.