Dehradun, Oct 14 Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan on Wednesday directed officials to prepare an action plan to provide foreign language training to the state’s youth.
During a review meeting here, Bardhan said the initiative should aim to train the state’s youth for global employment requirements and create maximum job opportunities for them.
He said, “Foreign language training must be developed as a skill development programme so that school students, ITI students, youth associated with the medical and nursing sectors, and other interested individuals can benefit from it.”
Instructing the Personnel and Finance departments to coordinate with the departments concerned and prepare a proposal for the foreign language training programme, he emphasised the need to design a high-quality programme that could be conducted via hybrid mode.
He directed the Education Department to formulate a plan to impart training in foreign languages, in addition to English, across all Atal Utkrisht Vidyalayas and Rajiv Navodaya Vidyalayas in Uttarakhand.
The chief secretary also directed officials to expand foreign language training programmes currently being run by the Skill Development and Employment Office in Dehradun, Almora and Bageshwar across the state, with training centres in every district.
A total of 158 training centres for German and Japanese languages are currently operational in the state, with plans to open additional centres in Uttarkashi and Tehri districts soon.
He said there should be continuous coordination with relevant agencies to align training programmes with actual employment demands and connect youth proficient in foreign languages with job opportunities both within the country and abroad.
The chief secretary also suggested utilising the services of students studying foreign languages at Doon University for these training programmes.
Arrangements should be made to provide academic credits or other incentives to encourage students undergoing training. Around 600 youths are currently undergoing nursing training at government nursing colleges in Uttarakhand, and providing them with foreign language training would be beneficial, officials said.
(PTI News)
