Dr MCR HRD Institute Wins SKOCH Award for Offering “Virtual Training Programs”, Despite COVID-19 Scare
Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana won the prestigious SKOCH Governance Silver Award at the 68th SKOCH Summit for offering “Virtual Training Programs, despite Covid-19 Scare”. Harpreet Singh, IAS, Director General (FAC) of the Institute & Prl. Secretary to Govt. of Telangana received the award.
The SKOCH Group, which is India’s leading Think Tank dealing with socio-economic issues, has instituted India’s highest independent civilian honors and awards in the field of Governance, Finance, Technology, Economics and Social Sector.
“When the entire nation was under lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic, well laid out plans went for a toss. The Institute also found itself on the horns of a dilemma - should it temporarily abandon its training programs or convert the adversity into an opportunity”, said Harpreet Singh at the Virtual Panel Discussion during the SKOCH Summit. He said that, instead of putting the training programs on hold, the Institute took a bold decision to offer them, through virtual mode, during the lockdown phase and the subsequent unlock phases. “The Institute successfully rolled out 62 online training programs and covered a staggering over 10, 000 Officers not only from Telangana State but also from across the country, right from the top to the lowest rungs of administrative hierarchy”, he stated with a sense of pride.
Harpreet Singh said that the impact of the online training was as effective as that of conventional training, both in terms of continuous and long-lasting learning and at the same time enjoying its journey.
“The Institute also trained a whopping over 80, 000 field staff from different districts of the Telangana State, during the last three years, in 15 soft skills and domain-specific e-Learning modules, sponsored by DoPT, Government of India”, said Harpreet Singh and added that the Institute is also mentoring other States such as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, J & K, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, etc. to train the trainers for e-Learning training program and, as a result, the Telangana State now ranks number 1 in online training, from across the country.
Harpreet Singh said that the success of the Institute in offering training, via virtual mode, calls for its wider use for Government employees in future, especially in the Post-Covid scenario. “When compared to the traditional face-to-face training, the online training would enhance employees’ access to training, in a big way, as they would be able to attend training programs, in large numbers”, he added.
Harpreet Singh thanked the SKOCH Group for selecting the Institute for presenting the award and also the Officers, Faculty, and Staff of the Institute, for putting their best foot forward for making the online training a great success.
“There are very few things that money cannot buy and the SKOCH Award remains one of them,” Harpreet Singh added.
