Going beyond the stereotypical notion of higher education, Mumbai University’s out-of-the-box course – Diploma in Community Forest Management – is creating a new generation of empowered tribal youth. Created exclusively for youngsters from tribal areas, this six-month course aims to empower communities to sustainably manage their traditional forest land. This course is offered by Mumbai University’s School of Economics and Public Policy under a Maharashtra tribal development department scheme of creating a ‘diploma on sustainable management of minor forest produce under the Forest Rights Act and PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas)’. Tribal youngsters who have completed Class 12 can enlist for this course. Project Director Professor Dr Manisha Karne, who is also the director of the School of Economics and Public Policy (MU), said, “This course is a blend of theory and practical knowledge spread across 26 weeks of coursework. It covers a wide range of topics like forest ecology and management, social and economic aspects of community forestry, rural development, natural resource economy, biodiversity of the forest, sustainable development, and forest laws and policies in theory. All of these are corroborated with practical knowledge through field visits, internships, and research projects in association with gram-panchayats of the respective tribal areas.” Apart from the content and the objective, what makes this course a truly unique one is the absolute freedom of the university to offer this course anywhere across Maharashtra. Thanks to this first-of-its-kind liberty, MU began offering this course in Mendha Lekha, the first village in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district to be granted community forest rights, in 2019. The course is now offered in tribal areas in Wada taluka in Palghar district and Kinwat Integrated Tribal Development Project in Nanded. The second batch of 38 students, including 12 girls from tribal areas in Wada taluka, graduated earlier this month. Within a few days, the students of the third batch from Nanded will also graduate. “The flexible course structure predates the academic flexibility offered by the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. However, the course did face a few difficulties during Covid-induced limitations. But now students from different batches are successfully graduating to become part of the sustainable development of their forest areas,” added Dr Karne. Mumbai University Vice Chancellor Dr Ravindra Kulkarni, said, “The holistic development of tribal youth through this course is going to bring drastic changes in their lives and in the sustainable development of their respective villages.”
