Few takers for courses in Scientific Glass Training Institute

Coimbatore: A group of 10 students, all pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Chemistry, were seen heating glass tubes and flasks over gas flames and blowing, bending and shaping them into designs. When they took their handiwork out of the flame, they had in their hands pipettes, flasks, bulbs and test tubes – all indispensable equipment which are used right from high school labs to cutting edge research facilities.
The students had come from Trichy to the city to learn scientific glass equipment making at the Government Scientific Glass Training Centre on Avinashi Road in the city. They have come to undertake the two-month skill training course offered by the centre.
The centre, run by the Commissionerate of Industries and Commerce, offers an 11-month course and two-month course. Though both the courses are fully free, very few people turn up for them, say officials at the centre. They said lack of awareness was the main reason for this. The centre, which was earlier located in Chennai and was shifted to Coimbatore in 2013, is the only one of its kind in the state.
Earlier, the centre used to offer only a two-year skill training course in making scientific glass equipment. After it was shifted here, the course was restructured to 11 months, besides a two-month course for those who could not afford to spend a year. The sanctioned student strength for the 11-month course is 25 and candidates get Rs500 a month as stipend. From 2015, a maximum of 100 candidates could have been trained, but officials said only four to five candidates have come for the course in the past four years.
The main reason for this was lack of awareness about the course and opportunities, said R Subasree, a senior chemist at the government testing laboratory and superintendent in-charge of the Government Scientific Glass Training Centre. “We have been sending communications to government schools through school department officials and we have also been writing to colleges, with information about the course,” she said.
Also, while there was no upper age limit for the two-month course, only candidates who are 15-20 years old can attend the 11-month course. People from the age group would be focussed mainly on school and college education and would not be ready to spend 11 months for the course. Officials at the centre said they have sent a proposal to do away with the upper age limit for the course so that people who have completed college can also undertake it.
People who get trained in scientific glass making, can easily set up a unit and become an entrepreneur, as it requires less investment and simple resources, said officials.
M Kabilan, a second year B.Sc Chemistry student from Bishop Heber College in Trichy, who attended the two-month course, said he now plans to become an entrepreneur in this field. “Though there may not be many employment opportunities for B.Sc, we can use the skill learnt from this course to start a small industry,” said N Subash Nethaji, another second year student from the college.
Officials said the centre was now admitting students for both courses. “We have got five applications for the 11-month course and 15 applications for the two-month course,” said Subasree and added that they were looking to reach more candidates.