Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Launch National Skill Mission on July 15

Anumakonda Jagadeesh Facebook 11 July 2015Better late than never.I have had been suggesting OCCUPATIONAL PROMOTION CENTRES since 70s.Here are Extract from My Monograph,'My Experiments in Science: With Special Reference to Appropriate Technology' published in 1978 along with Experts Comments:A Monograph onMy Experiments in Science: With Special Reference to Appropriate TechnologyByA. JAGADEESHCONVENORSociety of Science for the PeopleNellore(AP)India1978Occupational Promotion CentresThe best protection against unemployment is a solid training and constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state. Investments made in this respect by industry and the State are by no means gifts to unemployed persons. They are investments which pay off, investments which increase productivity, quantitatively and qualitatively. And, on the other hand an unemployed person who does not possess the qualifications which make it possible to reintegrate him into the labour process means expense with no prospect of profit. Well trained young people have the best chances on the labour market.We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack proper facilities to receive some useful training their energies are being diverted for wrong ends. Occupational Promotion Centres can be established at district level where they can get free training (part time) in occupations like welding, radio mechanism, drilling, carpentry, glass blowing etc., on technical side, soil testing, water analysis, blood testing etc., on scientific side. This training will go a long way in equipping the trainees with some practical knowledge which will help them to start an industry of their own or in getting some gainful employment. We are having Industrial training Institutes, Polytechnics etc., to give training in industrial and technical subjects. But the above centres have a difference from these institutes in that the centres operate on the principle Voluntary Learning is more Effective than forced learning.People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I personally know many people working as apprentices in private workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude for that profession. Recently a young high school student designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely with limited material available. If such students are permitted to avail the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.There is a hobby centre in S.V. University to give training to University students in fields like radio mechanism, glass blowing etc., which is working very well at Tirupati. The training is free to University students.I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to establish Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts. All that these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level. At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training depending on the interest of the trainees.REACTIONS.. The central theme of your proposal is well taken. We have only to find out the mechanism and consider whether CSIR should be the focal point for doing this. However, I shall get this proposal examined further.Prof.Y.Nayudamma, Director GeneralCSIR New DelhiAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERSStony Brook, New York, U.S.A.Dear Mr. Jagadeesh,Thank you for sending your articles about occupational promotion centers and post-graduate diploma courses. Helping the unemployed to become better qualified for specific kinds of employment is certainly a worthwhile cause. I think your plans are both excellent, and I hope your government can find a way to support a program such as that you have outlined.Until our recent recession became serious, unemployment was not a serious problem for most persons in the United States. There are, of course, ghetto areas in our big cities where many people are unemployed and poorly educated, and there are some depressed areas in other locations in the United States where large factories or mines that once employed many people have closed. In these cities and areas, state, country, and city governments do set up programmes that assist the unemployed to develop new skills that would enable them to secure jobs. The variety of such programmes is vast, and I am familiar with only a few. The one that I know best and one that seems to be very effective is a program of courses on technical subjects offered at very low cost by the country government here on Long Island. It is also true that our two-year community colleges here in the United States, colleges that are largely supported through country budgets, offer programms in a wide variety of technical and occupational fields. Since a number of these colleges are very large, most students can live at home while attending such a college and thereby keep costs very low. Students who graduate with what is called an Associates degree with a specialty in some occupational field are much in demand and usually find it quite easy to secure employment. Many cities operate craft centers particularly during the summer months where students and other who are unemployed can learn a variety of manual skills. I think these play much the same role as your hobby centers would play.The American Association of Physics Teachers does publish the Physics Teacher magazine, not the Science Teacher. The Science Teacher is published by the National Science Teachers Association; their address is 1201, 16th street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. I have enclosed one copy of a recent issue of The Physics Teacher.Note that you can subscribe to this journal for $15. You might also consider becoming a member of AAPT. The membership fee for 1975 is $22. Each member has a choice of receiving either The Physics Teacher or the American Journal of Physics, and in addition he receives four issues of the AAPT Announcer and a monthly journal called Physics Today published by the American Institute of Physics. I have enclosed an application blank in case you decide to join AAPT.Sincerely yours,Prof. A.A. Strassenburg.. Kindly refer to your letter No.AJ/GC/2908/77-78 dated 13.03.1978 on the subject mentioned above addressed to Honourable Minister of Industry enclosing a scheme on Occupational Promotional Centres to be established in Districts. These schemes are really useful.It may be mentioned that District Industries Centres are being set up in the country where all assistance will be provided to entrepreneurs under one roof. The training programmes will also be provided to the entrepreneurs in various trades which have got scope in respective areas. Thetrainees will be provided stipend and all efforts will be made to settle them in the trade after the completion of their training.Swarajya Prakash, Director (DIC)Office of the Development Commissioner(Small Scale Industries)Ministry of Industry, New Delhi.. While I am in entire agreement with the idea of having such centres around the country, I personally feel that the establishment of these centres would come more appropriately under the purview of the Ministry of Education. To be effective, the CSIR laboratories must confine themselves to a limited set of activities.I suggest that you write to the University Grants Commission in this connection. It should be possible for them to ask and fund the universities in various places to start the type of centres you have suggested. Such centres could also function as parts of Science Museums more of which, I hope, would be established in the country in the coming years.Dr.P.M.Bhargava, Deputy DirectorR.R.laboratory, Hyderabad.. Your scheme for establishing Occupational Promotion Centres seems to be a useful one but we are unable to give any assistance in view of the fact that ICAR deals with only research and higher education in agriculture. However, for your information I am enclosing a copy of the Mehta Committee Report on establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the skill-oriented training of the farmers, farmers sons, school-dropouts, school certificate holders and in service extension workers. If you feel that such a Kendra could be a feasible proposition for you to establish, we will be happy to consider the same on its merit.With kind regards,Dr.N.K.Anant RaoDeputy Director General (Education)ICAR, New Delhi

Reviving Period on CRAFT in Schools:

In Our School Days there used to be periods on Craft,Scouts and Guides,Moral etc. These have to be revived both in Government and Private Schools.

Science Museums in Districts

Science is now advancing at a rapid speed in our country. There is acute need to take Science to the masses. WhenScience is increasingly becoming an integral part of our life, it is hardly necessary to emphasize the need for ScienceMuseums in towns. Its importance in the education of our youth and in providing incentives to scientific talent iswell known. When our country is set to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of all essential commodities bydeveloping industries, using indigenous materials and talent, scientific education and growth of mind becomes anessential pre-requisite. Though there are other ways of popularising science, Science Museums can play animportant role as Seeing is Believing.To establish Science Museums in Districts require enormous investment. I have a novel scheme. Every year Districtand State Science Fairs should be conducted throughout the country. The best exhibits from these fairs can bepooled and placed in a college, high school or District Central Library building. We can tap the young talent if wecan put their names on the exhibits as this gives them a stimulus to design new things. Simple apparatus showingbasic principles of Science can be designed. If resources permit, in due course, these Museums can be upgraded intomajor museums like those at Calcutta or Bangalore.The main objectives are :To stimulate interest in science and education so that more and more children may be attracted in futuretowards research, engineering and teaching.To portray the application of Science and Technology to Industry and contribution to human welfare.To encourage the creative talent amongst the younger generation.To popularize science in other ways.We are planning to organise a Museum in our own District. Out Motto is Science to Serve Society Society toSupport Science. Let us hope the scheme will materialize and be a success.REACTIONS.. Kindly refer to your letter No.AJ/GC/1009/74-75 dated 3rd February, 1975 on the above subjectaddressed to Dr.Nayudamma, DGSIR. It will be a good idea to put up a Science Museum at Tirupati to popularisescience and Technology, since thousands of people visit Tirupati throughout the year. CSIR Museums will bewilling to lend their expertise in setting up such a science museum. If you think that TTD may be willing to givefinancial support for such a project, why not request the TTD Authorities to initiate the matter and approach theCSIR along with the offer of funds?I thank you for your keen interest in the establishment of science museums at Tirupati and hope to hear from yousoon in this matter.A.BOSE, Director of MuseumsCSIR - Calcutta.. There is already a proposal to establish the Science and Art Museum at Tirupati. I am sure it willfructify soon with the help of the State Government, the Centre and the Devasthanam.C.Anna Rao, ChairmanTTD TirupatiNATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20550Directorate for Science EducationDivision of Science Education Development and ResearchDear Mr. Jagadeesh,I received your letters dated August 9, August 14, and August 24th. I will comment below on the issues youraised in all three of these letters.Since museums play a very important role in improving the science literacy of the public in the UnitedStates. Every large city in the United States has a science museum, and some of the smaller cities and largeuniversity campuses do also. Among other roles they play, science museums help to keep young children and adultsnot otherwise engaged in scientific activities interested in and informed about progress that is being made on thefrontiers of science. There is a new movement in this country to make science museums an even more vital force inour educational programs than they have been in the past. The basic idea is to make it possible for museum goers tointeract with scientific apparatus and to directly observe scientific phenomena under controlled conditions ratherthan to passively observe static displays. This style is perhaps best exemplified in the Palace of Arts and SciencesMuseum in San Francisco, under the direction of Dr.Frank Oppenheimer. By contacting Dr.Oppenheimer directly,you could obtain more details concerning the objectives and display techniques employed at his museum.Shortages of textbooks available for student use is not a problem common to the students at colleges anduniversities in the United States. I am somewhat familiar with this problem as it exists in India, and I certainly agreethat it is extremely important to adopt new strategies that make textbooks more readily available to science students.In my view your plan to create collections of textbooks in each district is very sound. Libraries are very importantand heavily used resources in the United States. Compared to the impact they have in improving the education andgeneral literacy of the population, libraries are inexpensive to establish and operate. As I understand your plan, youpropose to create libraries that specialize in textbooks in use in the schools of each district in India. By specialisingin the content of the library in this way, you should be able to provide a more efficient service to the students.Psychological counseling is much in demand among students at colleges and universities in the UnitedStates. Each college provides one or more appropriately trained counselors, and these are heavily used by thestudents. If it is impossible to provide such a counselor on each college campus in India, then the provision ofcentrally located psychological counseling services would seem to be extremely important. While I know little aboutsuch matters, it is my opinion that it is extremely important to select counselors that are trained to deal with the kindof psychological problems that are characteristic of young students. The only problem I see in the establishment ofcentralised centers that serve large regions is the sensitive nature of the service being provided. It is my impressionthat students will only avail themselves of such services when they have confidence that the counselor is likely tounderstand and be sympathetic with the problems of the student, and when there is a guarantee that the conferencesbetween counselor and student will be kept confidential. It may take some special effort on your part to persuade thestudents on campuses to avail themselves of a remote psychological counseling service. However, I think it is worthfurther study and a trial in one or two typical districts.I hope these comments are helpful.Sincerely yours,Prof. A.A. StrassenburgProfessional Associate------------------Union HRD Ministry and Styate Governments can take up this project.INNOVATION FUND & INNOVATION CENTRES IN ENGINEERING COLLEGESIn a broader sense, innovation is important to the advancement of society around the world. New and innovative products can increase the standard of living and provide people with opportunities to improve their lives. Breakthroughs in medicine and technology have significantly improved living standards around the world. Innovation has also lead to significant improvements in the way businesses operate and has closed the gaps between different markets.Innovation in engineering:Innovation in engineering is much more than research and development. It encompasses an end-to-end process, such that it extracts value through implementation. Innovation involves: creating or generating new activities, products, processes and services seeing things from a different perspective moving outside the existing paradigms improving existing processes and functions disseminating new activities or ideas adopting things that have been successfully tried elsewhereInnovation covers the area from minor quality improvements to 'cutting edge' products and services."If we can't find ways to inspire a generation of engineers with varied skills, this is going to be a principle obstacle for growth in our slowly recovering global economy" said Lidia Brito, Director of the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building at UNESCO. "A recent UNESCO Engineering Report shows a marked shortage of engineers in many countries. Although the general number of engineering students is increasing worldwide, the proportion who enroll in engineering, as compared to other disciplines, is concernedly dropping. We need hands-on challenges like Fly Your Ideas to motivate young innovators about the potential of engineering in helping to find practical solutions to issues the world may face in the near future."Such innovation may be under threat from a skills gap that could be hitting the economy hard. It will see high tech companies face a shortfall of 40 million of the skilled workers needed by 2020 and beyond, with aerospace likely to suffer, along with motor and the medical equipment sectors.Charles Champion, Executive Vice President Engineering at Airbus and Fly Your Ideas Patron, says: "These future-focused and disruptive concepts prove that engineering isn't just about technical skills - it's about having an innovative mindset and a creative approach. But for our industry to succeed in making aviation carbon neutral by 2020, we need a constant source of fresh and inventive ideas from the innovators of today and those of tomorrow. Our future solutions are here right now - and through projects like 'Fly Your Ideas', we are helping them to become a reality for the future."Innovation is extremely important to a country like India as it is closely related to productivity. Although there are a number of avenues to increased productivity, innovation is the most significant factor.Creativity is seeing what everyone sees and thinking what no one else has thought before,Invention is transforming those new thoughts into tangible ideas Innovation goes even further, involving preparedness to mix with the commercial world to turn novel ideas into products .The expertise of the engineering profession is vital to convert innovative ideas into reality for common use. Many of the comforts humankind enjoys today have been the result of innovative engineers. Examples include electrical appliances, transportation, buildings, telecommunications and urban infrastructure. Innovation and technology have become two inseparable words in the annals of human history. Engineers drive technology and are therefore at the forefront of innovation.In India there were efforts to harness the talent and innovative spirit among people by organisations like National Innovation Foundation(NIF),National Research Development Corporation(NRDC),TePP etc. besides some private initiatives(Spark the Rise) etc.In a vast country like ours these are piecemeal.I am glad to read the news item in January 2013:Rs 5000 Crore Innovation Fund in India"National Innovation Council Chairman Sam Pitroda today said a Rs 5,000 crore fund to support innovations would be launched soon."We have an innovation fund that we are launching... a Rs 5,000 crore innovations fund with focus on affordability, scalability and sustainability," Pitroda said on the sidelines of an event here."The real innovation has to come from the bottom of the pyramid," he added."The amount spent for innovation should help to shape the beneficiaries as entrepreneurs. I have a project:Innovation Centres in Engineering Colleges:Engineers are best suited to innovate. Unfortunately most of the Engineering Colleges like Infrastructure facilities(like Good Workshop, Electronics Lab etc). A Project," INNOVATION CENTRES) in Engineering Colleges can be started under the Rs 5000 Innovation Fund. Selected Colleges can be provided to start a good workshop and Electronics Lab. This way the Students can undertake innovative projects and come out with good gadgets. Later they can patent them and go for commercialization. This is the best way to spend Innovation Fund so that there will be productivity and promotion of Entrepreneurship.Creativity, Innovation and Invention are the Pillars of Progress.Today in Industry, INNOVATE OR PERISH is the MANTRA.:Occupational Promotion Centres:The best protection against unemployment is a solid training and constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state. Investments made in this respect by industry and the State are by no means gifts to unemployed persons. They are investments which pay off, investments which increase productivity, quantitatively and qualitatively. And, on the other hand an unemployed person who does not possess the qualifications which make it possible to reintegrate him into the labour process means expense with no prospect of profit. Well trained young people have the best chances on the labour market.Occupational Promotion Centres:We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack proper facilities to receive some useful training their energies are being diverted for wrong ends. 'Occupational Promotion Centres' can be established at district level where they can get free training (part time) in occupations like welding, radio mechanism, drilling, carpentry, glass blowing etc., on technical side, soil testing, water analysis, blood testing etc., on scientific side. This training will go a long way in equipping the trainees with some practical knowledge which will help them to start an industry of their own or in getting some gainful employment. We are having 'Industrial training Institutes', 'Polytechnics' etc., to give training in industrial and technical subjects. But the above centres have a difference from these institutes in that the centres operate on the principle 'Voluntary Learning is more Effective than forced learning'.People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I personally know many people working as apprentices in private workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude for that profession. Recently a young high school student designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely with limited material available. If such students are permitted to avail the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.There is a hobby centre in S.V. University to give training to University students in fields like radio mechanism, glass blowing etc., which is working very well at Tirupati. The training is free to University students.I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to establish 'Occupational Promotion Centres' in Districts. All that these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level. At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training depending on the interest of the trainees.Innovation, Invention and Creativity are the pillars of any society. Why countries like US, Germany, South Korea and for that matter China are advancing, because of innovations in every field.In India recently an Innovation Fund of about 1000 Crores has been set up. Already there are National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Techno Entrepreneur Propgramme (TePP)of DSIR,National Innovation Foundation(NIF) are working to promote INNOVATIONS and INVENTORS. These are piecemeal in a vast country like ours.Innovative mind does not require higher education or training. There are geniuses everywhere. We have to identify them and nurture them. Often it is difficult to identify the right problem then the solution will automatically follow.I have a novel plan:The Government(Central) ,along with Industrialists and private corporate giants like TATAs,Birlas,Mahindra,,Infosys etc., can create a INNOVATIVE FUND. They can form a secretariat of experts in different fields, NGOs,Scientists & Technologists etc.,. An advertisement can be given in Newspapers, Electronic Media asking people to suggest the problems they face. Huge number of problems will be received from people. These can be shortlisted subject wise and (about 50 to start with) can be identified and readvertised for solutions. The solutions received can be evaluated scrupulously for their innovative nature and the best solutions can be given awards. The award should be of the value of Rs 1 Crore. To catch a fish the bait should bite attractive enough.Is not Amitabh Bachan conducted Kaun Banega Crorepati a roaring success? This programme sets in motion a thought process among millions of people.Our Centre has been involved in the DESIGN, DEMONSTRATION and DISSEMINATION of Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology Gadgets. We have not taken any patents and are willing to share our experience and expertise in promoting our Innovative Devices.

Glad to know about Launching of Skill India Mission by our Prime Minister.Here is an Action Plan to achieve the Objectives:Skills Based & Vocational EducationVocational, or skills-based, education is becomingmore important today, with many employers expecting new employees to have all the practical skills they need to start work. Vocational courses are typically more practical andskills-based than academic degrees, but they are often taught at universities as well as colleges and technical institutes.If you know exactly what you want to do in your career and it requires practical skills, then vocational learning is important. It could be hospitality and tourism, retail management, software development or interior design. There are literally thousands of skillsbased training options out there. Vocational schools, sometimes referred to as trade schools or career schools, provide practical training with few unrelatedacademic course requirements. Vocational schools can offer programs ranging from short-unit classes of ten weeks or less to long-term programs of up to twoyears in length. Some states offer public vocational schools and career training programs through community colleges, but the majority of vocational schools are private institutions. Vocational school credits don't typically transfer to academic undergraduate programs like an Associate of Arts program, but they may award students with a certificate credential.Common ProgramsVocational schools generally focus on programs in careerfields that can be completed in two years or less. Vocational schools focusing on a single field, such as automotive trades or health services, may offer onlyone training program or give students a choice of several programs in the same industry, such as hair stylist, barber, nail technician or esthetician programsat a cosmetology school. Other vocational schools offer programs in several unrelated fields, like agriculture, office skills and technical training. The following are some common types of vocational school programs:WeldingCosmetologyPlumbingCarpentryLocksmithingElectrical installation and maintenanceMotorcycle and automotive repairFloral designMedical transcriptionHotel and restaurant managementDanish Fokeschools:I stayed in Denmark for a year.What is a folk high school?The Danish folk high schools offer non-formal adult education. Most students are between 18 and 24 years old and the length of a typical stay is 4 months. You sleep, eat, study and spend your spare time at the school. There are no academic requirements for admittance and there are no exams - but you will get a diploma as a proof of your attendance.What is non-formal adult education?The concept of "Non-formal adult education" is associated with N.F.S. Grundtvig, a Danish philosopher, poet, educational thinker and clergyman, (born in 1783 - died in 1872), and his thoughts concerning free educational opportunities. The concept arose in the 19th century and is one of the cornerstones of the Danish educational system.Teaching in the folk high schoolTeaching is characterised by professionalism and dedication. Classes are based on dialogue and mutual learning between teachers and students. The main focus is to discover and strengthen the unique skills of each student in a challenging yet supportive social atmosphere.South KoreaI visited South Korea.Vocational high schools offer programmes in five fields: agriculture, technology/engineering, commerce/business, maritime/fishery, and home economics. In principle, all students in the first year of high school (10th grade) follow a common national curriculum, In the second and third years (11th and 12th grades) students are offered courses relevant to their specialisation.In some programmes, students may participate in workplace training through co-operation between schools and local employers. The government is now piloting Vocational Meister Schools in which workplace training is an important part of the programme. Around half of all vocational high schools are private. Private and public schools operate according to similar rules; for example,they charge the same fees for high school education, with an exemption forpoorer families.Most vocational high school students continue into tertiary education; in 2007 43% transferred to junior colleges and 25% to university. At tertiary level, vocational education and training is provided in junior colleges (two- and three-year programmes) and at polytechnic colleges. Education at junior colleges and intwo-year programmes in polytechnic colleges leads to an Industrial Associate degree. Polytechnics also provide one-year programmes for craftsmen and mastercraftsmen and short programmes for employed workers. The requirements for admission to these institutions are in principle the same as those in the rest of tertiary sector (on the basis of the College Scholastic Aptitude Test) but candidates with vocational qualifications are given priority in the admission process.South Korea is also well known for the results its school children achieve in the OECDs triennial Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which evaluates the scholastic performance of 15-year-olds in over 60 countries around the world. SouthKoreans ranked second in reading, fourth in math, and sixth in science in 2009,.Alongside Korea and other regional powerhouses such as China (Shanghai Metro), Singapore and Hong Kong Europes Nordic countries also perform well on the PISA assessments. However, while Nordic educational success is largely attributable to well-funded and high-quality public schools, the success of Korean school children is oftenattributed to significant parental investment in after-school classes and other forms of private or additional tuition outside of the public school system.Korean children spend 220 days a year in school versus 190 in Finland and 180 in the United States. By some measures, the average Korean child spends 13 hours a day studying after supplemental class time is factored in. According to a PISA criterion known as study effectiveness, South Korea ranks only 24th out of 30 developed nations. Children in Finland, the top ranked country in study effectiveness (and third ranked overall), spend significantly less time in school and in studying ingeneral than is the case in Korea.Occupational Promotion CentresThe best protection against unemployment is a solid training and constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state. Investments made inthis respect by industry and the State are by no means gifts to unemployed persons. They are investments which pay off, investments which increase productivity, quantitatively and qualitatively. And, on the other hand an unemployed person who does not possess the qualifications which make it possible to reintegrate him into the labour process means expense with noprospect of profit. Well trained young people have the best chances on the labour market.We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack proper facilities toreceive some useful training their energies are being diverted for wrong ends. Occupational Promotion Centres can be established at district level wherethey can get free training (part time) in occupations like welding,TV mechanism, drilling, carpentry, glass blowing etc., on technical side, soil testing, water analysis, blood testing etc., on scientific side. This training will go a long way in equipping the trainees with some practical knowledge which will help them to start an industry of their own or in getting some gainful employment. We are having Industrial training Institutes, Polytechnics etc., to give training in industrial and technical subjects. Butthe above centres have a difference from these institutes in that the centres operate on the principle Voluntary Learning is more Effective than forced learning.People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I personally know many people working as apprentices in private workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude for that profession. Recently a young high school student designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely withlimited material available. If such students are permitted to avail the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to establish Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts. All that these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level. At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training depending on the interest of the trainees.National Science Service Programme(NSSP):(Extracted from My Monograph,My Experiments in Science: With Special Reference to Appropriate Technology published in 1978)In our educational system (both at School and College level) emphasis must be laid on schemes which envisage exposure of students to the problems of society. Just as we have NCC, NSS, we can also have a National Science Service Programme (NSSP), which envisages the utilisation of the services of Science teachers and students for constructive activities in villages. Under thisprogramme, the students from degree classes led by a lecturer choose and ADOPT a village near them. They will visit the village and acquaint themselves with the problems of the villagers. They will plan how best they can utilise the knowledge acquired in the classroom, for bettering the lot of the villagers. They will prepare a mini-plan extending over 3 years. For example, they can undertake soil analysis, wateranalysis, pest control of crops etc. In the regular curriculum practical training on subjects like soil analysis, water analysis, blood testing etc.,can be given.The scheme has been circulated to Union Government, all State Governments, all Universities, International agencies like UNESCO, American Association of Physics Teachers, National Science Foundation, American Association For The Advancement of Science etc.REACTIONS.. I have your letter of January 8 enclosing your not eon National Science Service and Research Centres.I agree with your approach and am trying to implement this in NSS Scheme in this University. We are arranging for students to use their speciality in tackling rural problems. Some of the suggestions you have made go even further in direction, and I intend to follow them.Dr. MALCOLM S.ADISESHAIAH,Vice-Chancellor,University of Madras, Madras.. This initiative is from conservation points of views very welcomed and has certainly the potential to develop into an important scheme having environmetnal impact on village society and life.Internationally your plan is a pilot scheme which is of great educational and scientific interest to UNESCO. I would be grateful if you would keep me informed about the evolution of your project, which might stimulate similar action in other countries.In Kenya there is since about 3 4 years a very successful youth movement Wild life Clubs of Kenya that is based on schools in all parts of the country. Further information on this scheme might be of value to you. Therefore, I suggest that you write to Miss Sandra Price, Kenya Wild Life Clubs, National Museum, Nairobi, requesting such informationsI wish you all success in this project.KAY CURRY-LINDAHLDirector, Zoological DepartmentUNESCO Expert in Ecology and Conservation for Africa,Stockholm, Sweden.. Your proposals look to me to be interesting ones and should serve as an important basis for discussion and further action on education in India.Please accept my wishes for success.Dr.Norman P.NeureiterExecutive Office of the PresidentOffice of Science & TechnologyWashington, U.S.A... Thank you for your letter of 20th May and your interesting paper on National Science and Research Centres. I shall hope to give this further thought and study to see if there is any way we can use such ideas in our work in this country.I enclose 2 copies of the ROSLA Schools/Youth Service Project as requested.MISS BENNETT, Youth OfficerSheffield District CouncilSheffield, U.K... It was kind of you to share your further thoughts on the establishment of National Science Service and Research Centres. I am pleased to learn that you have already elicited interest and support from so many different institutions. In response to your request for suggestions I would like to mention a few points.In the local bazar and in the village a person who has had training in science can find many instances in which scientific principles are exemplified. The principles of mechanics come into play whenever loads are moved, wood is split, water is drawn from the well. Chemistry comes into play when the fire is lit and the food is cooked. The microbiology of the tank and the microbiology of the fields is there. Materials science is involved in the operations of the black smith. Physical chemistry in the dyeing of cloth; microbilogy in the preparation of dahl; the list of ready examples is almost indefinitely long.Perhaps one component of your programme could be to elicit some of the relevant principles through observation of community life through the eyes of the science teacher. Perhaps projects making use of the most readily available materials could be designed with the help of teachers from the colleges and universities and conducted by persons in the adopted village. Descriptions of individual projects could be collected and published as a handbook for use by others.I believe that for such a project to be successful it would be necessary for a nucleus of well-trained science teachers to become interested in undertaking the work, because the expertise of the scientist is really needed in order to transform the ordinary event into an occasion for learning more about science. I am confident that if a group of science teachers took up this strategy of teaching science in the village that there would be a useful awakening to the role of the scientific approach to the solution of ordinary problems.Again, may I wish you well in your project.Gordon L. Hiebert, HeadNSF/New Delhi Science Liaision Staff.. Your letter and article. What you have suggested is absolutely necessary and it is feasible at every college and village. As you know there are other programmes like this sponsored by CSIR and other agencies where villages have been adopted and big scientists get involved in a big way, and we end up with one model village at enormous cost. Your idea of one college-one village has the merit that it is student-oriented, no fan fare and so on. I am strongly recommending it to our Youth Welfare Department who run youth camps with the (misguided) feeling that if the students lay road to villages, they get integrated. In my opinion, the villager feels that his daily wages have been removed. Anyway I will try my best to have this programme put to trial in this area.Dr.J.JayaramanDepartment of Biological SciencesMadurai University, Madurai.. I must appreciate your thinking on the subject of involving science students of the colleges in some useful and productive projects. In fact the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation as also ICAR are very much thinking on this line and we shall be using your suggestion and line of thinking in the future schemes. For your information the ICAR has already requested all the agricultural universities and colleges to involve students and staff in agricultural development projects in the villages. Some have already done some work on this line and others are planning to do it on continuous basis.Dr.C.PrasadAsst. Director General (Edn.)ICAR, New Delhi.. I shall bring this to the notice of the committee on College Science Improvement Programme and explore the possibilities of implementing some of the suggestions in a few colleges.It was very kind of you to have written to me.Dr.D.Shankar NarayanAdditional Secretary, UGCNew Delhi.. We had requested Principal Saha of RCE, Mysore to let us know the position and he has intimated that the project does not involve any financial help from NCERT at all and if you require all the help and guidance you can contact Mr.K.V.Rao, Field Adviser at Hyderabad or Dr.Sharma, Head of the Department of Science, RCE, Mysore and they would be glad to extend all sort of co-operation.If you require any further information, you are free to approach us.Prof.R.P.SinghHead of the Department &Member Secretary (ERIC)NCERT, New Delhi... I feel there is little I can add to the comments of praise already expressed by numerous experts and I would very much welcome the opportunity of seeing the programme in action at some future date. With this in mind, perhaps you would let me know when the colleges reopen and the programme is re-established so that I can arrange to vist Nellore when we could also discuss the implications of the Open University.Once again, many thanks for the very interesting and informative document, and I look forward to meeting you some time soon.Dr.D.J.F. BurtonAssistant Education AdviserThe British Council, Madras.. It is felt that instead of the ICMR adopting certain independent districts for development in various aspects, it is being proposed to join hands with the CSIR taking the task of up-lifting of health services in these selected areas. I am communicating this information to the Ministry of Health and Family Planning for necessary action.Dr.C.GOPALAN, Director GeneralICMR, New Delhi.. I have appreciated the opportunity to carefully review your description of the proposed scheme for National Science Service and Research Centers. The scheme is one that encompasses science in the lives of people a goal that I personally find a most desirable challenge. Your scheme illustrates what creative people can do with relevant concerns.In this country, we do not have similar centers as I understand your description of them. This is not unusual, for I believe that such centers will likely be productive when they are all designed to meet the needs of local problems. We are concerned with helping teachers maintain their knowledge and skills. In a recent paper Teacher Centers I have described how these centers function in this country and in England. Because of your interest, I am enclosing a copy of this paper.Be assured that we are pleased to encourage you in your efforts to improve science teaching.Dr.David P.Butts, PresidentAssociation for the Education of Teachersof Science,The University of Georgia, USA.. I am glad to hear that your scheme National Science Service and Research Centres is gaining momentum. I wonder whether you would be willing to write a short article about your scheme that we might publish in Science Education News. We could use an article of approximately 1,000 words. Please let me know if you would be willing to do this.Dr.Arthur H.LivermoreDeputy Director of EducationAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceWashington, U.S.A... We found the idea very interesting and wish you every success with it.Please find enclosed some documents on the education systems in Australian States which we trust will be of use to you in the planning process.Dr.A.H.Ennor, SecretaryDepartment of Education & ScienceA.C.T., Australia.. I certainly admire the energy and insight you have exhibited in the development of the plan enclosed with your letter. I feel very privileged to learn of this ambitious program, and I am pleased with the opportunity to make a small contribution by sending you my comments. First, the aims seem to me most admirable. With regard to the programme of action, I feel most parts of it are very thoughtfully designed and are likely to make a significant impact on the villages of India. I confess I am some what skeptical concerning the probable success of phase I. I doubt that stories of the exploits of scientists will seem anything but mysterious to individuals with very little background in science. I feel strongly that it is not a good idea to add to the impression of mystery that many citizens have towards science. If the planning were up to me, I would concentrate on the educational phases of the programme and let the stories of important scientific discoveries evolve in the natural context of learning some of the basic methods, concepts, and findings of scientists.I regard phase II, the technical and educational phase of your programme, as very ambitious but extremely well planned. The topics you have decided to include are certain to be of interest to most citizens. I can only urge you to begin this instruction at a very elementary level. All my experience in attempting to teach physics to students at various ages impresses me with the difficulty of communicating with persons who have no knowledge of the vocabulary, experimental procedures, or logical thought process used by scientist.I have only one other suggestion in reaction to your proposal. It would seem to me that the problem assigned to each student should be one proposed by the villagers themselves. I still fear that if projects are imposed upon them by a group of well educated outsiders, they are likely to be very skeptical and may well resist rather than co-operate with the programme. I do think the list of problems is an extremely interesting one. I am particularly impressed with the importance of discussing problems of agriculture and health. Your pattern of organization seems to me very admirable and I can think of nothing that would improve it.I hope you will continue to keep me and others here at the State University of New York at Stony Brook informed of the progress you made in implementing this programme. All of us have great interest in science education in India, and if your programme is a success, we could no doubt profit by emulating it in efforts to educate our own rural citizens.Prof.A.A.StrassenburgExecutive OfficerA.A.P.T., New York... Thank you for your letter dated 6 June with the interesting account of what seems to be a most comprehensive and inspired scheme to help the rural dweller, who is so often disadvantaged in any country.Enclosed is a copy of my monograph : Education and Rural Development with reference to Developing Countries, which might be of interest to you.From the enclosed letter to Dr.Basu, you will see that I am negotiating for a visit to India in a few months time. If I am successful in my negotiations, could I come and spend a little time with you and help you with some of your many projects ?I am particularly interested in India, having spent a few months in 1962 at the University founded by Rabindranath Tagore at Santiniketan in West Bengal.Dr.G.M.CoverdaleSchool of EducationMacquarie University,Australia.. I consider your proposal of great value and indeed suitable to the realisation of the interest of the younger student generation to the basic problems of your country and indeed any country in the world. I have visited your country one year and a half ago, travelling by bus from Patna through Uttar Pradesh to Benaras, Agra and New Delhi. From my granted superficial observation, it seems to me that your plan may well provide a solution for many of the problems inherent in your village regions. I venture to say that a similar program might be well very fruitful in my own country and therefore I shall be grateful to you if you would be so kind to send me information on the further development of your program and its realisation.With best wishes to you and to your admirable program.Prof.A.DE VRIES, Bellinson HospitalHealth Insurance InstitutionPetah Tiqva/Israel.. The proposed scheme of National Science Service has very valuable motivations. Its programme is wide enough to catch interest of villagers as well as students.As you say the success depends on the missionary zeal for service through science. This scheme will also provide a practical target to the biological associations and other scientific clubs already existing in so many colleges and Universities of India.The more delicate point will be the real contact with the villagers themselves. This will require a good psychological approach, and appropriate choice, of the problems and subjects of primary and practical interest for the villagers. Their voluntary cooperation will not be obtained, at least at the beginning, without any hope of some betterness or solution of their own problems.The success or failure of the scheme at the village level will greatly depend on the first practical results obtained by the students clubs. This may be a better way to get villagers confidence and help, than lecturing on more general and philosophic views on science and humanity.On the other hand, the scientific out turn of the students enquiries and field studies will depend mostly on the scientific level and capability of the Leaders, Lecturers or Demonstrators involved in the scheme.I am sure that you have in mind these difficulties which are existing in almost all the countries of the world. Rural development schemes, in the broadest sense, requires first a good sociological approach, and as much psychology as scientific knowledge.Wishing you the best of success.Prof. Dr.J.L. Trochain, Service De., Botanique Universite Paul Sabatier, France.. Your letter with an enclosure entitled National Science Service and Research Centres was referred to the Science Foundation of the Philippines (SFP) by our Department of Foreign Affairs. Your request for the Philippine Embassy in India to send the scheme to the concerned authorities to take appropriate action bespeaks of your keen desire to make the people not only of India but also of Southeast Asia, benefit from Science and Technology - a laudable measure you have taken.Like your country, the Science Foundation of the Philippines (SFP) representing the Philippines is a member of the International Coordinating Committee for the Presentation of Science and the Development of Out-of-School Scientific Activities (ICC). For this reason, we have been collaborating with the ICC Regional Vice President Dr.Ananda Ghosh of the Bose Institute in Calcutta in the development of programmes for Southeast Asia with strategies similar to what is described in your scheme. Rest assured that the SFP staff will closely study your scheme and will adapt applicable ideas with due credit to you in its out-of-school science education project. We will appreciate continuously receiving from you information on developments regarding your youth community project.Thank you,Juan Salcedo, JR., PresidentScience Foundation of the PhilippinesManila.. Concerning Taking Science to Villages and for the pamphlet on your National Science Service Programme with the many stimulating comments. The enthusiasm for your program appears to be great and the workship certainly can lay the conceptual and organisatorial foundations.It seems to me that the great problem of our world today is not so much the academisation of the young generation, than the effective and productive integration of academic youth into society, both by adjusting education to societys demand and by reforming society so as to become receptive to developed minds. This has to be a two-way interaction. Unfortunately, as we have seen in our generation, academisation has in considerable measure increased the distance between youth and society, and, in spite of the New Left, the gap has not yet been narrowed, indeed, seems to be widening. Whichever is guilty lack of education or wrong education, society nowadays appears to turn away from learning except from purely technical, and to distrust the academician except in his technical knowledge, and youth becomes more and more materialistic pragmatic.It is my firm belief that in the final issue the fate of the world, if not ending in disaster, will have to be determined by spiritual forces guiding mankind in the use of its acquired technical skills which, if left on their own, shall be useless or worse, destructive. That is where your village program may be of great value, by exposing the student to the impact of society with its spiritual values, so that in reforming society he shall keep in mind the limitations of the natural sciences in shaping a human future , and shall be open to the manifestations of mans soul.With best wishes,Prof. A.DE VRIES, Beilinson HospitalHealth Insurance InstitutionPetah Tiqva / IsraelTo make Skill and Scale India as envisaged by our Prime Minister here is a short list:1. Introduction(Reviving) Craft Period in School curriculum both in Government and Private Schools.2. Skills Based & Vocational Education.3. Starting Folkeschools on the lines of those in Denmark4. Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts5. Starting Innovation Centres in select Engineering Colleges with Government Assistance.6. National Science Service Programme in Degree colleges7. Science Museums in Districts (Government and Private Participation)8. Involving people in solving problems9. Starting Youth Economic Zones(like SEZ) in Rural areas(Like Kibbutz in Israel)10. Energy conservation and Saving as a National Mission.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP)India