2 February 2011 MEDIA RELEASE IGNOU, NHRC launch online training programme for police personnel The Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOUs) School of Law (SOL) in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) launched a five days online training programme on human rights for police personnel at the convention centre, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, chairperson, NHRC, inaugurated it for Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police academy personnel. “This activity is an outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered between IGNOU and NHRC a few months ago. The main aim of this programme is to sensitize and spread awareness about human rights. We are reaching to 3.5 million students lying in the age bracket of 6 to 90 years. We have study centers in jail, a programme in anti-human trafficking which is the first of its kind in India. This university is constantly evolving and moulding its efforts about the type of knowledge needed in the society today. With such a programme, IGNOU aims to bring down the rate of conflicts and crime in the society by extending hands to create awareness among police personnel,” said Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU. “IGNOU is a living embodiment of global society in this world,” he quoted UNESCOs director general’s statement who described IGNOU while looking at its diversified activities. The main objective of this programme is to sensitize the police personnel towards human rights issue and equip them to apply human rights in their day to day interaction with public. “It is our basic duty to sensitize people and protect their human rights in the country and police plays a very important role in the society in maintaining the law and order. NHRC appreciates IGNOUs efforts in this field. We have launched a basic course for lower level police personnel in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana which is currently available in Hindi and shall soon be translated into regional languages,” said Justice K.G. Balakrishnan while inaugurating the online programme. “A major chunk of police personnel, almost 60 to 80 per cent, are constables and sub-constables. If we see their educational qualification, it is very meager. Almost 80% of the constables are qualified only upto class tenth. They should be informed about all the penal laws in the country along with the legal knowledge,” said Prof Elumalai, Director, SOL while elaborating upon the genesis behind this programme. This is a tailor made programme keeping in view the tight schedule of the police personnel. This online programme can be assessed as and when required which would also be stored in the archive section. The units are interactive and follow a multimedia approach with animation and flash programmes used in their designing to make tem interactive and simple which are then followed by case studies and discussions. Prof Elumalai elaborated upon the course contents and said, “There are six modules which will be taught to the learners on the first three days through interactive lectures by counselors in e-Gyankosh, students interacting with them back. The last two days will have interactive counseling sessions comprising of a web conference. On the completion of fifth day, the students would be awarded with a certificate duly signed by the IGNOU VC and the NHRC.”
Prof Uma Kanjilal, Director, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU announced the development of a portal using open text online usage available in the pdf format for self learning purpose. “It is a highly interactive platform for peer to peer as well as learner interaction consisting of animating characters using the flash mode. The learners are required to register themselves on the portal after which they can assess the blogs, emails, texts, audios, video chats, etc, to share and participate in the discussions. Such a platform aims to train 2500 participants at a time and that too at the place of their choice,” she said. Mr. P.C. Sharma, member of NHRC, while appreciating this as a huge leap for NHRC to integrate technology in their workings to create awareness said that it receives around 80,000 complaints in all out of which 30,000 are against police personnel. “It is not necessary that all are correct. Many are false but many of them are true too. This compels us to think about the needful steps to be taken to train them, to make them realize their responsibility towards prevention and detection of crime,” he said. The programme aims to bridge the gap between police and common people, create informed and self regulated police personnel, sensitize the police force and interact with them to share their practical difficulties and experiences. Towards the end of the programme, there were heads from the respective police academies present through the web interactive video conference sessions who presented their views upon the overwhelming response they are getting from their regions. The function was presided over by Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, VC, IGNOU, and Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, chairperson NHRC. Sunil Krishna, DG NHRC, P.C. Sharma, member NHRC, Satyabrat Pal, member NHRC, K.S. Money, Secretary General NHRC, Prof Elumalai, Director SOL, IGNOU and Prof Uma Kanjilal, Director SOSC, IGNOU were also present.
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