The Vardhman Mahaveer Open University (VMOU) in Kota is all set to launch a six-month certificate course on MGNREGA that is touted to be the world’s biggest employment providing scheme.
“We have made all preparations to launch the course from July 2010, says the VMOU vice-chancellor Naresh Dadhich. The VMOU has already been running a certificate course on ‘Gandhigiri’, which was based on Sanjay Dutt starrer Munnabhai MBBS. The VMOU formulates the contents of the course and a practical training programme will also be a part of the course. We will take the students on MGNREGA sites to teach them,” says Mr Dadhich.
The Congress government had dashed the VMOU and sought help in launching such a course on MGNREGA. The course will be helpful in providing jobs to the students with the certificate on MGNREGA. “Since the implementation of MGNREGA needs mates as employees to run the programme, the certificate will help such youth in getting jobs of the mate, Mr Dadhich says.
According to the VMOU, the certificate course is also aimed to create an awareness among the people about the concept of MGNREGA.
“Anyone having completed secondary education at the age of 18, would be eligible for enrollment,” Mr Dadhich says. The course would have three papers. ‘’We hope it will be a most successful course,” says Dadhich. The implementation of MGNREGA is marked with complaints of corruption and irregularities. Civil right activists like Aruna Roy and others demand a transparency in the MGNREGA. The money pumped by the government in MGNREGA, raised a ray of hope among the rural masses. But it also increased the number of contestants in recently held panchayat elections.
The sarpanchs had formed unions in most of the districts and opposing transparency in MGNREGA. Despite differences, ruling Congress and Opposition BJP leaders had joined hands to support tainted and corrupt panchayat leaders.
The VMOU had launched a certificate course in year 2007.
“The course on ‘Gandhigiri’ has been appreciated everywhere, it is based on non-violent conflict resolution,” says Dadhich.