From the Stone Age to the modern era of technology, we have come a long way. For those with means, there are now a wealth of material comforts available. The rich-poor divide has grown wider as a result of globalization. However, Covid-19 has produced a climate in which even the wealthy, despite their considerable wealth, could not live happily. Recently, technological advancements in the fields of transportation and communication, as well as medical science, have been made possible by artificial intelligence. Today, it is possible to find many of the once-perceived wonders of the past, such as cars that run without drivers and drones that fly with out pilots. Despite these amazing advancements, man is unhappy and morality and ethics are rapidly deteriorating.
In spite of all these discouraging developments an adolescent will be blessed if he manifests his dormant powers keeping his ideal before him and struggles hard to live up to his ideal for he will succeed in attaining his goal.
The outcome of the current educational system are people without integrated personalities. Students’ personalities today are split personalities. Now that s/he is unemployed and unable to promote any businesses other than a select handful, he feels frustrated. We are now observing an increase in both domestic extremism in the West and terrorism around the globe. The world is experiencing an increase in racial discrimination, conflicts, violence, drug menace, unrest, small-scale wars, hate crimes, the global food crisis, the widening gap between the rich and poor, and climate disaster. Environmental hazards, suicide bombings that kill even school children, vandalism, and catastrophic stampedes like the one at the stadium in Indonesia, human sacrifice like in Kerala, fear of using nuclear weapon, dislocation in global supply chains and other factors are putting lives in danger today. Additionally, widespread corruption and unequal recoveries from Covid-19 are fueling the current state of ill-being. Above all, developments in Ukraine & global problems associated with it have also caused havoc in the world. In the light of these conditions, there has been a reconsideration of the efforts that should be taken by properly grooming adolescents and young people in order to help them face challenges in their lives.
Therefore, the objective of the project is to give adolescents and young people such learning opportunities that will help them to grow into all- encompassing individuals so as to be successful in their lives.
Each person is endowed with a variety of faculties and endowments, such as
- Physical strength,
- Mental strength,
- Thinking power,
- Reasoning power,
- Power of discrimination,
- Will power,
- Power of intelligence,
- Power of feeling,
- Power of thought,
- Power of Speech,
- Power of memory etc.
The project seeks to explain to adolescents and youth that they do possess all these endowments and that these have to be carefully kept strong, stable and properly used with noble thinking/thoughts (by citing lively glaring examples) so that they can develop their total personalities. Our trainers will inspire them to wake up their sleeping potentials and make them conscious of their goals. There is a great need now then before to rouse their dormant powers. It is expected that our learners will imbibe the qualities and principles in life. They will not only develop positive features and will also become aware of negativity so that they can transform those negatives into positives. All these learning opportunities will enable them to imbibe the nurturing life skills to enhance their all round developments. Sambalpur Public Library (SPL) has signed MOUs with the following Universities and Institutions to provide training / counseling to students free of cost online through their Institutions both inside Odisha and outside the state as well.
- Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Science and Research (VIMSAR), Burla, Odisha will provide training as to how they will be engaged in health building so as to keep their body and mind fit from toenail to head top under all conditions.
- Gangadhar Meher University (GMU), Sambalpur through its Departments of Psychology and Philosophy and School of Yoga, Sambalpur will train them as to how they will control their minds. Thus, both body and mind will be kept fit by each learner to enable to promote his/her all sided personality.
- Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla has shouldered the responsibility of training the learners in technology; mainly training in computer, digitization and artificial intelligence. Today is the age of technology and one must have command over technology to be successful in life.
- Indian Institutes of Management, (IIM) Sambalpur has agreed to groom our learners so that their entrepreneurial skills can be promoted and they can be employment givers rather than employment seekers.
- Experts from Sambalpur Public Library have shouldered the responsibility to promote ethics and morality among them in building their characters. A few national and international experts have also agreed to provide counselling. Our learners are ethically starved today. The project seeks to take care of and rescue them from the drug menace, misuse of mobiles, radicalisation and the like which are working as poision in polluting them . They will be educated in ethics when our trainers will instil in them right knowledge and moral values. This is nothing but Nation Building activities which our project plans to implement through grooming.
- Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Training (PMMMNMTT) sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), located at Ramanujan College, New Delhi has agreed to provide training to the trainers besides displaying their virtual labs on important concepts for the benefits of students. They will train as to how our trainers will deal with the learners with love, kindness, sympathy and compassion which is the way to encourage learners to work hard for their goals. This will also radiate the energies of learners which with uplift both body and mind and will beautify their lives.
- Odisha State Open University (OSOU) will share Online facilities for grooming classes.
Besides all these, experts in Science, Mathematics, and English are readily available to clarify the doubts of the learners online as and when they seek. In brief, this is what the project seeks to achieve through supplementing and complimenting regular teaching in schools.
This is unique and in conformity with New Education Policy 2020 as it is
a). Multi- disciplinary,
b) Multi- institutional,
c) Multi- dimensional
seeking to train youth to be ideal citizens. It is, therefore, expected that besides enriching their knowledge in domain subjects. Grooming will endow adolescents & youths with
- Confidence and self-awareness
- Clarity, empathy and social deftness.
- Direction to realise their goals with motivation
- Empower them to prepare scientific plan for the purpose which makes their lives healthy & worthy with impulse control,
- Desire to harness their energies & potentials to be successful,
- Zeal to work hard for success,
- Inspiration & joy for hard work,
- Determination to assert for manliness,
- Empowerment for present all well as future prosperity with purity of goodwill & high moral character and
- And above all to build up their characters, and engaged in Nation Building Activities.
By and large, grooming will train them to build up their health, promoting skill with command over technology besides inculcating Cultural, Moral, spiritual and ethical values and nurturing them to be successful global citizens.
We seek your kind suggestions for further improvements in our endeavour.
Professor A.P. Padhi,
Chairman, Sambalpur Public Library, Sambalpur, Odisha
& Former Vice-Chancellor, Berhampur University, Odisha.