Co-operatives in India are exploring how to revamp co-op education and training across the nation. During a national conference held in New Delhi on 25 June, members of the National Co-operative Union of India (NCUI) looked at some of the issues faced by their federations implementing co-operative education programmes.
Dr Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, a member of Parliament and president of NCUI, encouraged co-operative executives to focus on strengthening co-operative education and raise awareness about the model within state institutions. He also called for more unity within the various federations to pursue a common co-operative education agenda.
Another problem identified by Dr Chandra was the lack of government funding for co-operative education.
NCUI chief executive Shri N. Satya Narayana mentioned the organisation’s Cooperative Education Fund, which is supported through contributions from members and administered by a committee set up by the central government.
Conference delegates emphasised on the need to provide co-operative education and training across all Indian states, improve the quality of services available through the Cooperative Education Fund, and increase government assistance with the programme. They also suggested that the NCUI should work together with state unions to integrate the latest technology into their education and training and adopt a needs-based approach to training.
NCUI will send the recommendations suggested by members to all the state co-operative unions for further development and implementation.
Earlier in May the NCUI hosted a Co-operative Trainers Training Programme with 51 participants taking part. They included professionals from state and district co-operative unions as well as academics and members of training institutes.
