THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an ambitious move to redefine care and protection of disadvantaged children below the age of 18, the state government has decided to impart high-end ‘marketable skills’ and English training to orphans and victims of rape and child abuse.
“Highly-qualified teachers with proven expertise, even global renown, in their fields will provide the training,” said Social Justice director V N Jithendran.
“It will be a life-changing experience for these boys and girls,” he added. The skill-enhancement programme will commence from the middle of January, 2015.
Nearly 2000 children mainly from the state’s nine children’s homes, five Nirbhaya homes and also children placed in foster care and those in financially-backward families residing close to children’s homes will benefit.
The project is attached to Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) organised jointly by the Higher Education and General Education departments.
The programme has two modules: Foundation and skill development. The Foundation Module is further divided into two: IT Skills and Communicative English.
Since the courses are provided in the children’s homes, funds have already been disbursed to acquire 25 top-end computer systems, LCD projector and a couple of lap tops in each of the nine children’s homes.
A large menu of marketable trades has been identified under the Skill Development Module.
This includes high-in-demand trades like plumbing, electrification, tourism “The children will be allowed to choose from the list of trades,” the Social Justice director said.
Till now, the kind of vocational training that was imparted in homes was not enough to get these boys and girls dignified jobs when they moved out of the homes.
“We found that they just could not compete with normal kids,” Jithendran said. And even when they have had the requisite skills, their poor communication had stood in the way.
“The communicative English training, which will be provided by some of the best people in the business, is expected to take care of the confidence part,” the director said.
