The Thiruvananthapuram centre of the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), which has been rendering yeoman service to society for decades, has been bogged down by inadequate fund allocation and staff shortage.
The centre here was established by the University of Kerala in 1984 and is one of the 254 JSS centres in the country. The autonomous institution functions under the Directorate of Adult Education (DAE) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development . The centre’s activities are controlled by a board of management that has Vice Chancellor P.K. Radhakrishnan as chairman and former bureaucrat S. Srinivasan as vice chairman.
Formerly known as Shramik Vidyapeeth, the institution has been imparting vocational training to illiterates as well as school dropouts. On an average, 2,000 people, mainly from socially and economically backward sections, benefit from the schemes offered by the centre annually. Anyone who is 15 years or older can enrol for its training programmes.
Job opportunities
“Unlike other programmes, we reach out to the target groups in their areas with vocational courses to assist them in landing jobs as well as launching entrepreneurial ventures. Our wide range of courses that include dress-making, embroidery, cutting and tailoring, fabric painting and bag-making have helped many earn a livelihood,” says K.B. Satheesh, Director, JSS Thiruvananthapuram.
The JSS centre here, classified category B centre, received an annual grant of ₹35 lakh, including ₹15 lakh each for the emoluments of its 10 staff members as well as its programmes.
“The allocation for organising training camps is inadequate as resource persons had to be brought for meagre allowances. Besides the shortage of staff, relatively low salary and lack of infrastructural capacity have hindered our efforts in enhancing productivity,” Mr. Satheesh said.
New courses
Amidst growing calls for widening their services, the JSS centres were recently directed to significantly decrease the number of batches held annually. Moreover, many fear that continuing with the same set of traditional courses could lead to their relevance waning in the long run. In addition, efforts made to shift the centre here from its rented facility to a permanent office within the university premises have also been futile.
Mr. Satheesh said that introducing courses such as dental technology and oil-rig technology that have immense employment opportunities could find many takers. He added that the State government could collaborate with the JSS centres for its skill development programmes.