PMRD fellows may get PG,MPhil degrees

Of the total 150 Fellows inducted last year,138 are still with the programme.

The Ministry of Rural Development is in the final stages of clearing a proposal to give Post-Graduate/MPhil degrees to Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellows (PMRDF),which once approved,will be implemented with the current batch itself.

The PMRDF,announced in September 2011,inducted its first batch of Fellows in April 2012. The programme aims at inducting young professionals for short durations at the district administration level in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas to assist in improving programme delivery and also serve as development facilitators. There are,on an average,two Fellows posted in 82 districts spread across nine states the maximum being in Jharkhand and Orissa.

Of the total 150 Fellows inducted last year,138 are still with the programme.

Story continues below this ad

Even though the programme was advertised as a fellowship,the ministry is now planning to introduce the option of obtaining a Post Graduate/MPhil degree called Master of Rural Development Practice offered by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences,Mumbai. Fellows will have the option of choosing,if they want,to be a part of the degree programme.

According to ministry officials,who did not wish to be identified,the current field-work of the fellows will be combined with theory classes and additional course-work will be introduced. Fellows would also be required to submit a dissertation.

Their work would be examined by experts,on the basis of which they would be awarded degrees. There will be a course fee for it and the SC/ST fellows (of 138,around 38 belong to the SC/ST category) will be required to pay 50 per cent of the tuition fee.

However,the fact that the ministry has introduced this option mid-way through the fellowship could come under criticism given it would have been able to attract more youth; or alternately,it may have been able to retain the fellows who dropped out.

Story continues below this ad

Yes,we are in the process of finalizing such a proposal. We felt,based on feedback,those recruited under the programme should have the option of obtaining a degree and thus,getting something more concrete for the hardwork they have put in, said a ministry official.

The minimum qualification to be recruited as a fellow is either a graduate degree in a professional course or a Post-Graduate degree in any subject. Those in the former category will be eligible for a Post-Graduate degree while those in the latter shall receive an MPhil in Development Practice. While the programme was originally for two years,extended by another year,fresh guidelines issued earlier this year have made it a three-year programme that cannot be extended.