Workers Education

Workers Education Workers Education attempts to give workers a better understanding of their status, rights and responsibilities as workers, as union members, as family members and as citizens. Workers Education addresses a whole range of skills and knowledge, which contribute to the harmonious development of a workers personality, his role in the society and the knowledge and attitudes required for such roles. Workers Education emphasises group advancement and solution of group problems. It differs from vocational and professional education, which is meant for individual advancement whereas the Workers Education lays stress on group advancement. Workers education is one of the principle objectives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment which, it seeks to achieve through the enforcement of various Labour Laws and implementation of various schemes and Programmes. The main thrust is on the education of Tribal workers, Women Workers and Weaker section workers. The Central Board for Workers Education (CBWE) an autonomous body under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India was started in 1958. It has initiated Workers Education Scheme in India which has been playing a very significant role in our national development; creating an enlightened and disciplined work force and bringing about desirable behavioral changes in our workforce in the organized, unorganized and rural sectors. It gets grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Labour & Employment to operate its activities. The Scheme of Workers Education aims at achieving the objectives of creating and increasing awareness and educating the workforce for their effective participation in the socio-economic development of the country. To achieve these objectives, various training programmes are conducted by the Board for the workers of formal and informal sectors at national, regional and unit levels through a network of 50 Regional and 09 Sub-Regional Directorates spread all over the country and an apex Training Institute viz. Indian Institute of Workers Education (IIWE) at Mumbai. The Constitution of India guarantees right to education to the citizens. Article 45 of the Indian Constitution enjoins that the State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six and fourteen years. Also Article 21A (which has been inserted by the 86th Amendment in December, 2002 has not yet been brought into force) provides that the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourt een years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine. In pursuance of National Child Labour Policy, a Scheme was started in 1988 to rehabilitate child labour. It contains the action plan for tackling the problem of child labour. The Scheme seeks to adopt a sequential approach with focus on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations & processes in the first instance. Under the Scheme, after a survey of child labour engaged in hazardous occupations & processes has been conducted, children are to be withdrawn from these occupations & processes and then put into special schools in order to enable them to be mainstreamed into formal schooling system. The scheme of child labour elimination has been linked with the scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of the MHRD in order to ensure that small children in the age group of 5-8 years get directly linked to school and the older children are mainstreamed to the formal education system through the rehabilitation centres and also vocational training is imparted to them.

Log on to http://cbwe.gov.in/ to have the information on Central Board of Worker's Education. About CBWE The Central Board for Workers Education (CBWE) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Started in 1958, the Workers Education Scheme in India has been playing a very significant role in our national development; creating an enlightened and disciplined work force and bringing about desirable behavioral changes in our workforce in the organized, unorganized and rural sectors. It gets grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Labour & Employment to operate its activities. The Scheme of Workers Education aims at achieving the objectives of creating and increasing awareness and educating the workforce for their effective participation in the socio-economic development of the country. To achieve these objectives, various training programmes are conducted by the Board for the workers of formal and informal sectors at national, regional and unit levels through a network of 50 Regional and 09 Sub-Regional Directorates spread all over the country and an apex Training Institute viz. Indian Institute of Workers Education (IIWE) at Mumbai.

CBWE Regional Directorates Sub-Regional Directorates Workers Education covers a whole range of skills and knowledge, which contribute to the harmonious development of a worker's personality, his role in the society and the knowledge and attitudes required for such roles. Workers Education is a special kind of adult education designed to give workers a better understanding of their status, rights and responsibilities as workers, as union members, as family members and as citizens.

Workers Education emphasises group advancement and solution of group problems. It differs from vocational and professional education, which is meant for individual advancement whereas the Workers Education lays stress on group advancement. Education does not mean merely literacy, but also should enable an individual to understand his/her responsibility towards family, work place, society and nation. Empowerment of workers is an essential component of Workers Education as the functioning and ultimate results achieved of any organization depends mostly on its workers. Objectives of Workers Education:

To strengthen among all sections of the working class, including rural workers, a sense of patriotism, national integrity, unity, amity, communal harmony, secularism and pride in being an Indian. To equip all sections of workers, including rural workers and women workers, for their intelligent participation in social and economic development of the nation in accordance with its declared objectives.

To develop amongst the workers a greater understanding of the problems of their social and economic environment, their responsibilities towards family members, and their rights and obligations as citizens, as workers in industry and as members and officials of trade union.

To develop capacity of workers in all aspects to meet the challenges of the country from time to time. To develop strong, united and more responsible trade unions and to strengthen

democratic processes and traditions in the trade union movement through more enlightened members and better trained officials.

To empower the workers as employees of the organization and to develop sense of belongingness as effective instruments of amicable industrial relations and maintaining industrial peace. To meet the needs of workers to have access to ways of acquiring and continuous upgradation of knowledge and skills that they require to find and hold a job. Objectives Of Rural Workeres Education

To promote among rural workers, critical awareness of the problems of their socioeconomic environment and their privileges and obligations as workers, as members of the village community and as citizens. To educate the rural workers to enhance their self-confidence and build-up a scientific attitude. To educate rural workers in protecting and promoting their individual and social interests. To educate rural workers in developing their organisations through which they can fulfil socio- economic functions and responsibilities in rural economy and strenghten democratic, secular, and socialist fibre of rural society. Hence motivating rural workers for family welfare planning and to combat social evils