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| MHA disappointed with Himayat scheme outcome | | Low retention, conversion fears major bottlenecks | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 13: Low retention rate coupled with fear of conversion has resulted in centrally sponsored Himayat scheme failing to achieve its desired objectives in Jammu and Kashmir.
The scheme has not been able to meet the targets. According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Himayat scheme has failed to supplement efforts being made to provide employment to youth of Jammu and Kashmir in various multi-national and internationally acclaimed companies across the country. It has served the purpose but to limited extent despite best possible efforts of the people connected with it.
According to the report of NITI Ayog, Low retention rates was the main challenge faced initially as trainees who went out of the state would return home because the salary provided would often be inadequate to sustain themselves. It has added that those who were sent outside the state for jobs spoke of discrimination, especially when finding accommodation.
Also, the opening of bank accounts for trainees was difficult due to the absence of necessary documents. Thus, during the initial stages of implementation, the dropout rate was as high as 70 percent, accepts the reports while adding that to resolve this problem, monetary and non-monetary post-placement support was introduced.
Following this, dropout rates reduced to 30 percent but still remain a challenge. Effective community mobilisation was also a big challenge. People's fixation with only taking up jobs in the public sector, which was especially strong in rural areas, had to be broken. This was solved by explaining that the comparatively low-qualified trainees of Himayat are assured minimum salary of Rs. 4,000 in private sector, which is more than what higher-qualified applicants are offered in the public sector.
The lack of trust in the state was also a challenge. People in the Kashmir valley are often cynical of government interventions. Himayat initiative was initially perceived as just another showpiece, which would not be effectively implemented. There was also a fear that it was an NGO-driven initiative that was a proxy for conversion by Christian missionaries.
These apprehensions were addressed by highlighting the fact that it was a government initiative, more importantly a Central government initiative which carried more credibility in the eyes of people. Trainees who had completed the training would also speak in support of the initiative, and the involvement of local people at all levels earned Himayat a lot of acceptability and trust.
The use of external agencies for carrying out community mobilisation also posed challenges. External agencies would provide incorrect information and make false promises to the trainees, leading to a loss of credibility of Himayat.
Fixing accountability became difficult as villages were not always saturated and comprehensively mobilised. Moreover, multiple agencies carrying out mobilisation in a single village also led to several problems. To solve this, the responsibility of mobilisation was given to the training agencies which ran the training centres.
Most importantly, in cases where trainees went out of the state alone or in small groups, they were easily demoralised in the new city, and dropped out. This issue was resolved by ensuring that a minimum of eight candidates from each village go out of the state together so that they form a support system for each other, thus enabling better retention.
It needs to be mentioned here that Himayat aims to provide jobs in the private sector to the unemployed youth of J&K by equipping them with market-relevant skills. The scheme aims to conduct skill training for 1 Lakh youth in five years and provide at least 75 percent of them with jobs. The focus is on youth from low-income families and school dropouts.
A minimum qualification of having passed the eighth grade is necessary. The scheme is completely free and open to all 18 to 35 year olds residing in state who meet minimum qualification. Preference is given to place young men outside state and young women within state. Implementation of the scheme is done by private companies or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). |
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