The Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) has speeded up the process of starting a women’s cell in all women’s colleges in the State. The project had been originally slated for implementation in February this year. But the government’s clearance for the project came only in March, which is examination time for the colleges.
“We decided to postpone the project to June-July, the start of the new academic year, as it would have been meaningless without maximum students’ participation,” P. Kulsu, chairperson, KSWDC, told The Hindu on Monday. Initially, the corporation had planned to launch the project with the help of an empanelled event management agency. But the State government rejected the idea. The government wanted the corporation to directly implement the project.
“We are now in the process of sending out letters to colleges in the State to ensure their participation. The original plan was to limit the reach of the project to 80-odd colleges in the first phase. But now we are planning it on a larger scale by extending it to 150-200 colleges,” Ms. Kulsu said. The corporation is yet to finalise a date for the formal launch of the project.
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The change in the implementation mode of the project has also necessitated a revision in the fund allocation. Originally, the idea was that the KSWDC would allocate Rs.5 lakh while the remaining Rs. 15 lakh will be raised through sponsorship. “We have approached the State government for fund re-appropriation”, Ms. Kulsu said. The project aims at grooming society leaders from among the young generation of women. Each participating college will be asked to select two students for the women’s cell.
The corporation will then organise a three-day extensive camp for these selected students. “It will be the responsibility of these students to go back to their colleges and start the women’s cell. They are supposed to work among fellow students and enlist them as part of the cell,” Ms. Kulsu said.