Dear All,

I would like to share with you the experiment the IGNOU Institute For Vocational Education & Training (IIVET), Shillong is conducting in collaboration with BASIX India - BASIX Academy For Building Lifelong Employability (B-ABLE) Division in the Common Service Centres of Meghalaya. We are introducing computer literacy integrated with communication and personality skills in the East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Ribhoi District of the State of Meghalaya. Very soon we will introduce it hopefully in the Garo Hills districts also. This is an adaptation of the telecentre model and the focus is on computer literacy. We are covering 60 Common Service Centres in the isolated blocks and villages of the state, some of them bordering Bangladesh. At the end of the training the trainees are given a written and skill test based on which certificates of successful completion are issued. The training is of three months duration.

The Village Level Entrepreneurs impart the training and initially there is a training of these trainers. So the training process works at two distinct levels. First the VLEs are trained and then they train the community. The experiment is quite successful as till date over 400 members of the community are proficient in computer knowledge skills and writing skills.  This is just to share with you.

Ananya S Guha

IGNOU IVET

Shillong