Biswabhushan Mohapatra
Post News Network
BHUBANESWAR: Call it administrative paralysis or apathy or plain disinterest in shouldering and discharging responsibilities. For the last few months, the Employment, Technical Education and Training (ETET) department is doing precious little, taking the chief secretary for granted and failing to meet the aspirations of the youths in the state who are badly in need of job.
At a time when the state and Union governments are stressing on skill development and creating more of employment opportunities for the youth, the ETET department is in a deep slumber. It has failed to heed or implement a single directive of the government in the last few months.
This came to light from a report based on state chief secretary’s Decision Tracking System (CSDTS), a copy of which is available with Orissa POST. The chief secretary, as head of the administrative mechanism, holds regular meetings with various departments and issues guidelines for improving efficiency. It is as part of this process that the software-based tracking system (CSDTS) to review departmental functioning was introduced.
The CSDTS report on five meetings conducted between November 2014 and February 2015 shows that the ETET department — the nodal agency for employment creation and skill development – did not implement a single decision taken during the high-level meetings. Matters stood where they were.
The documents say that, chief secretary GC Pati chaired a meeting on uniformity of payment system in skill development, February 2 last. It was decided that the ETET department would short-list agencies for imparting employability enhancement training for select youths on identified skills through a transparent process. To be drawn into this were those who qualified in the aptitude tests. The department should provide such training to at least 1,000 students in the first phase, and the number could be increased in phases as per requirement. However, nothing of the sort has happened so far.
In November, 2014, the chief secretary had asked the ETET department to prepare a common guideline and training model for all state-sponsored skill development programmes with a provision for quality certification and accreditation. It was also decided to develop a strategy by December for organising skill-based courses for unemployed professional graduates in ways as to improve their employability. Again, nothing of the sort happened.
Similarly, at another meeting, the chief secretary had called for developing a common e-platform or web portal (by March 2015) on behalf of the employment mission for listing the details of those interested in various skill training programmes. This also has not been acted upon yet.
As per the decision, the portal would provide scope for applicants to give their choice of the skill and training provider. The serial number of the applicant would be uploaded on the website. The links and details of potential employers and of those who are already trained by the government should be provided on the portal, as per the decision, an official of the department said.
At another meeting in January, the ETE&T secretary has been asked to invite private players through advertisements to develop and run advanced skill development centres across the state for enhancing the skills of technically qualified youths and increasing their employability. This is also a non-starter.
The Orissa state employment mission (OSEM) has been asked to provide employment to 40,000 youths in the year 2015-16, but time is running out and the mission is yet to initiate the process.
Besides, the department by itself had announced a special recruitment drive in September last to provide direct employment to B. Tech and MBA graduates. Again, nothing happened.
ETET additional secretary PK Das said “The OSEM is looking after these matters.”
