In a bid to offer affordable educational opportunities to weaving communities, the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) will subsidise the education of all weavers enrolled in the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
They will get certificates equivalent to the secondary-level national board certificates, and will be free to take subjects that augment their occupational skills.
The MoT will reimburse 75 per cent of the education costs to the NIOS, which means the weaver needs to pay only one-fourth of the normal fee. For women and members of Scheduled Caste communities who are weavers, the NIOS will waive the remaining 25 per cent as well, thereby enabling them to study and get a certificate free of cost.
The plan is also politically potent. Given that a sizeable number of weavers are from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the Dalit castes, this move signals the government’s intent to reach out to these segments. Many weavers are Muslims, a community whose members are currently at the receiving end of cow vigilantism and love jihad campaigns by rightwing groups.
Significantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, is a key weaving cluster among many others in India.
Three courses
“NIOS conducted a survey in the major handloom cluster of Varanasi and identified the needs of the weaver community. Accordingly, it has developed a plan where weavers can take three courses directly related to their profession, such as fibre to fabric, design development, handloom weaving, dyeing and printing, along with a course in entrepreneurship related to their area, and one language course,” said a senior MoT official.
The weavers who complete these courses will be entitled to secondary certification technically equal to the certificate issued by any other National Board of the Secondary level, the official explained.
