Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Launches Phase-II of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship To Enhance Skills
Speaking at the launch, Pradhan called upon fellows to act as catalysts of social change at the grassroots by driving skill development efforts. He also urged district collectors and academic partner IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) to facilitate the fellows and script a success story of change through this fellowship.
New Delhi, October 25: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday launched the second phase of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship, a two-year programme to create opportunity for youth and enhance skilling at the grassroot level.
The fellowship seeks to combine classroom sessions by academic partner IIMs with on-field exposure at the district level to create credible plans and identify barriers in raising employment, economic output, and promote livelihoods in rural areas.
Speaking at the launch, Pradhan called upon fellows to act as catalysts of social change at the grassroots by driving skill development efforts. He also urged district collectors and academic partner IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) to facilitate the fellows and script a success story of change through this fellowship.
The Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are moving towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
"Tremendous transformations taking place across sectors will create demand for new skills and more skilled professionals and thus calls for skill mapping at district level and directing skill development efforts accordingly," Pradhan asserted.
The minister exhorted the fellows to work with global thinking and local approach including integrating the local language in skill development efforts.
Speaking about the National Education Policy 2020, Pradhan outlined the vision to create strong convergence between education and skills and recent initiatives in this direction including the Academic Bank of Credit. He called upon the IIMs to make the fellows aware about the National Education Policy.
To strengthen the skill training delivery mechanism in the country, Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), a World Bank assisted programme, was launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in January 2018.
SANKALP engages with District Skill Committees (DSCs) to effectively reduce the mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled manpower in the country, thereby creating decent opportunities for the youth to work and earn.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme under SANKALP was designed to provide a cadre of professionals at the district level.
During the fieldwork (District Immersion), the fellows shall work within the district with DSC officials on skilling challenges facing the district. Along with the DSC officials, they shall put together District Skill Development Plans and implementation road maps.
MGNF is an opportunity for young women and men in the age group of 21-30 years who already possess some level of academic or professional expertise for providing catalytic support to the district administration to improve the skill development programme delivery.
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