Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated a six-month-long academic programme for the newly elected leaders of local bodies here on Tuesday.
The first-of-its-kind certificate course on decentralisation and local governance is being conducted by Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) in collaboration with the Sree Narayana Guru Open University and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.
Mr. Vijayan said that the innovative programme marked the coming together of universities that would pool in their expertise to enhance the training programme being offered by KILA. Such initiatives were bound to enhance the local body leaders’ understanding of decentralised governance.
Minister for Local Self Governments A.C. Moideen presided over the function. Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel said the academic credits and certificate would become a boon for local body leaders who aspired to pursue further education.
Mayor enrols
Kerala State Higher Education Council vice chairman Rajan Gurukkal P.M. mooted upgrading KILA as a full-fledged university to foster in-depth study and research into grassroots democracy, local governance, and decentralised planning. Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran enrolled as the first participant of the certificate course.
Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology Vice Chancellor Saji Gopinath, Sree Narayana Guru Open University Vice Chancellor P.M. Mubarak Pasha, State Planning Board members B. Ekbal and K.N. Harilal, Additional Chief Secretaries of Higher Education and Local Self Government Departments V. Venu and Sarada Muraleedharan, Electronics and IT Department Additional Secretary K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla, and KILA Director General Joy Elamon also participated in the function.
