Awareness on benefits of higher education - NCRI workshop at Vizianagaram

Aworkshop ‘Enhancing awareness among rural youth, women and disadvantaged groups regarding the benefits of higher education and identifying the Rural Institutes to work towards this objective’ was organised at Nathavalasa-Village in Vizianagaram District of Andhra Pradesh on April 21st, 2009. Shri R.R.K Murthy, Consultant, NCRI and Prof. Chandraiah of Dr. B .R Ambedkar Open University at Srikakulam participated in the event. Representatives of over 50 NGOs serving the needs in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts attended the workshop. Prominent among the participants were Shri Pari Naidu, Director, Justified Action and Training for Tribal Upliftment (JATTU) TRUST, Parvathipuram (Vizianagaram) and Smt. S. Krishna Kumari, Director, Gayathri Rural Educational Society, Santabommali, Srikakulam. The workshop was aimed at understanding the importance of higher education for the rural youth, women and disadvantaged groups for the rural reconstruction and to seek inputs from the participants on the strategies needed to enhance awareness among the rural youth, women and disadvantaged groups and also to draw ideas on the feasible methodologies for identifying rural institutes to realise this objective.

The welcome address was given by Dr. Ramesh Babu, Project Director, Gayathri Rural Education Society, Srikakulam. Shri Pari Naidu took the opportunity to emphasise the need for such workshops and thanked NCRI for facilitating the same. Shri Pari Naidu also stressed the need for efforts to enhance the awareness about higher education among the rural youth and women and how these efforts can be taken up by the rural institutes in motivating and encouraging these groups towards higher education and building efforts towards rural development.

Prof. Chandraiah, Head of the Department of Rural Development of Dr. B. R Ambedkar University, Srikakulam delivered the inaugural address at the workshop. He presented some of the theories and assumptions with regard to rural higher education that envisages training for rural folks in making use of local resources and training as service. Shri R.R.K.Murthy explained the objective of the workshop, the focus, and initiatives of NCRI towards rural transformation based on Gandhian philosophy and its strategies in the area of rural higher education. Many constructive ideas generated through the session helped identify the relevant areas of rural higher education. Some of the ideas, which emerged at the workshop include

(1) Establishing career guidance cells at village level and connecting them to Mandal and District        level cells;
(2) Organising youth camps and exhibitions and making high-school students aware of rural higher        education;
(3) Preparing suitable audio-visual presentations and using them by organising Kala jataras, Gram        Sabhas etc. for students, youth and parents as well;
(4) Planning and conducting a survey to identify youth, women and the disadvantaged groups that        require the awareness;
(5) Conducting awareness programmes on higher education among parents and elders of the        village;
(6) Establishing women career guidance cells in each village;
(7) Making it mandatory to impart skills that promote traditional village level crafts along with the        rural higher education skills.

(a) Kula Sanghas;
(b) Mahila Sanghas;
(c) Youth Association;
(d) Libraries;
(e) Gram Aaikya Sanghas (Unity forums);
(f) Rhythu Sanghas;
(g) High Schools and Junior colleges.

The following programmes were identified that could be taken up that help in enhancing skill development among rural youth:

• To study the local skill needs of each village and to promote skills that can be connected to those needs.
• To design pamphlets, placards, display boards, cultural programmes and meetings and campaigns that bring awareness.
• To consider Panchsheela programme carried out by Deccan Development Society (DDS) in Jahirabad as an ideal practice in bringing awareness.
• To identify local resources and skills in demand to be adapted in Nai Talim education.
• Application of Micro planning.
• To bring awareness among parents also along with children.
• Nai Talim to be made part of Balvadi’s, Mata Shishu Kendras, and Anganvadis to make use of picturisation technique in  projecting the difference among the villagers in which Nai Talim is in practice and in villages where there is no such practice.
• To involve various government and non government agencies in the entire process of awareness and implementation of programmes.

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