Kudumbashree’s PG diploma course at Loyola College of Social Science

KOZHIKODE: Kudumbashree,  the state’s famed poverty eradication mission,  will kickstart  its  first community studies  at Loyola College of Social Sciences,  Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday.  

The one-year PG diploma in development systems  is being conducted in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

There are a  total 43 seats and   38 candidates were selected after a state-level written test followed by group discussion among the members and children of Kudumbashree. 

They include  three men from the scheduled tribe community.  A 50-year-old woman is the eldest among the students whose minimum educational qualification is graduation.

“TISS has developed the curriculum with a thrust on community research. We have students from all parts of Kerala and 60 per cent of them are from BPL families,”   TISS faculty-in-charge, Dr Manjula Bharaty,  told  DC.  Dr Bharaty, who had a stint with Kudumbashree earlier, added that lack of documentation was  a problem with the mission.

The students will have a one-month  course at TISS Mumbai in October. Besides faculty from TISS, guest lecturers from a panel of  institutions, including Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, JNU, IIT and  CDS will be roped in.

Kudumbashree will assist in finding placement opportunities for the best students. “However, we never guarantee  jobs.  Efforts will be made to find openings with other SRLMs (state rural livelihood mission), in research areas,” said Kudumbashree executive director K.B Valsala Kumari.