The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched an online portal Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services, or TAPAS, to offer massive open online courses (MOOC). TAPAS has been developed by the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD). TAPAS will provide five basic courses on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.
While launching the portal Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar congratulated NISD team for the initiative and said that the online medium of learning will enable the Ministry in reaching out to an even larger number of people working in this area of social defence.
The minister urged everyone to enroll for the course for a better understanding of issues such as substance abuse prevention, elderly care, transgender welfare and beggary prevention. “Everyone working in the field of social defence is encouraged to enroll for the course. It is an online course and one can utilise this facility to its full potential,” Dr Virendra Kumar said.
TAPAS seeks to provide access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more, but in a manner that it supplements the physical classroom without compromising on the quality of teaching, a Government statement said. The main objective of introducing the course modules, the statement added, is to impart training and enhance the knowledge and skills for the capacity building of the participants. It can be taken up by anyone who wishes to enhance his or her knowledge on the topics and there is no fee for joining.
“In our education system, where the offline mode of teaching is so deeply entrenched, this course will lead the path of change and open up new possibilities. There is no dearth of respect and regard for our age-old guru-shishyaparampara, but there's no reason why it can't be transited to the online medium. Hence, let us embark on this new journey and increase our horizon when it comes to learning and gaining knowledge,” Dr Kumar further added.
R Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in the statement said that TAPAS is a standard MOOC platform with course material such as filmed lectures and e-study material. It also includes discussion forums to support and encourage interactions among students and course coordinators.
