The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : `SHGs have potential of women empowerment'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

`SHGs have potential of women empowerment'

By Our Staff Reporter

TIRUCHI, SEPT. 21 . The potential of self-help groups in the district to usher in social, economic and political empowerment of women was highlighted by the Collector, V. Pandian, at St. Joseph's College today.

He was speaking at a convocation organised by the Extension department of the college to distribute diplomas in Computer Applications and Office Management to 90 beneficiaries, who underwent a year-long training under the aegis of Women Empowerment Programme, sponsored by the Department of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Human Resources Development, New Delhi, and the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Corporation.

The Government, he said, had devised schemes for economic development of women. Of 6,500 SHGs in the district, 5,100 SHGs were functioning under the purview of the Mahalir Thittam. They were integrated with about 25 non-government organisations, he said, urging the WEP beneficiaries to associate themselves with SHGs to take the benefit of training to the masses. He suggested that the college keep track of the employability status of the WEP trainees.

Underlining the positive impact created by the training offered to women SHGs and panchayat heads, the Project Director of Mahalir Thittam, G. Jayalakshmi, felt that other colleges too could think on the lines of offering such diploma training programmes for the underprivileged. She lauded the quality of the capacity building training imparted to the WEP beneficiaries at St. Joseph's College.

Presiding over the function, the college vice-principal, Fr. Elias, said the women in the country, comprising 50 per cent of the population, should be educated and integrated with economic development. The Director of the Extension department (SHEPHERD - Science and Humanities for People's Development), G. Melchias, said the Extension department, which, he noted, was functioning like a non-government organisation, was given the opportunity to conduct the training programme. Since many of the beneficiaries were employed at the time of joining the course, afternoon hours were fixed for the training programme, he said, adding that the participants were also taken on exposure visits to places such as the Tiruchi District Cooperative Milk Producers Union and the Tiruchi District Central Cooperative Bank. The 60 beneficiaries, who undertook diploma in Computer Applications, underwent 255 hours of practical training during the year-long duration comprising two semesters, at the well-equipped Computer Laboratory, he said.

Earlier, the Collector distributed diploma certificates to the beneficiaries in the presence of the college secretary, Fr. D. Selvanayakam.

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