Joda: Six Community Education Resource Centres (CERC), set up in Odisha’s Keonjhar district by Tata Steel Foundation, have been doing an admirable job in grooming local talent.
A total of 344 local students have benefitted from these centres, which have been set-up with the support of an NGO called ASPIRE.
The sixth centre was inaugurated in Anseikela last month. The other centres are situated in Kundurnala, Bhuyanroida, Jajang, Bolani and Deojhar villages in Joda block.
The CERCs have been imparting basic knowledge on using computers, internet and other e-resources to the youths of Keonjhar villages.
Currently, the CERCs are providing a six-month postgraduate Diploma course in computer applications.
“Since the establishment of these centres, we have seen a lot of interest not only from kids but also from senior citizens to learn computer skills. The training we provide here has accelerated the growth of local youth and has groomed them to pursue higher studies,” said Udipti Nayak, a local from Deojhar village who works as facilitator at one of these centres.
The CERCs have projectors, printers and laptops which are used by the community for filling up online forms, availing government schemes and applying to colleges and universities.
The facilities are also used to screen movies and documentaries to update the community on social issues. Activities based on art and crafts and basic science experiments are also conducted.
These centres form a major component of Tata Steel’s 1000 Schools Programme, which aims to create a model of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) within the Right to Education (RTE) framework that is replicable and scalable.