Monday, December 08, 2008
A diploma course on security practices for those in the supervisory cadre in hotels, malls and cinemas has been quickly added to the list of distant education programmes offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University. The human resources development ministry has asked the University to include it from the next academic year onwards, in the wake of the terror attack on Mumbai.

C G Naidu, director of the School of Vocational Education and Training, IGNOU, told The Times of India that the course would start on a pilot basis later this month in New Delhi and will be launched in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in July. It will be launched in ten more centres, across the country later next year.


Naidu said "There are two kinds of courses being offered one is for training the security guards who are from the below the poverty line hailing from rural areas. This course is funded by Ministry of Rural Development''.

"The second would be a certificate and diploma course for those wanting to enter the industry in the supervisory level, the cost of this course would be Rs. 15,000. The Security Services Council of India would offer their expertise on the faculty while the curriculum would be drawn by the IGNOU'' Naidu said.

Candidates will be trained in handling gadgets and sniffer dogs, keeping surveillance and responding to emergency. After the one-year Diploma in Security Operations, one could get supervisory jobs in security agencies.

"The kind of security we see at the malls, cinema halls and other public places does not meet the requirements and in the wake of the recent attacks there is a need for a more professional security outfit," said CG Naidu.

The faculty would be a mix from the IGNOU faculty and the industry. Retired army, police officials and others from the armed forces would impart security techniques like body movement, potential trouble makers and even specialize in sanitizing unclaimed objects.

"The objective of imparting these courses is to create a professional outfit which is able to handle any emergency and create a better sense of security amongst the people in public places and areas prone to attacks'' Naidu said.

The response to the course has been encouraging and the IGNOU would carry out a publicity campaign to reach the masses about the training, Naidu said.

Naidu said, "The course was in the pipeline since 2005 but after the recent attacks on Mumbai attacks, we decided to launch it as a pilot programme later this month in the capital''.

"We for sure would be interested in hiring these candidates on the completion of their course as we are a professional organization and this would be a value add to our profile'' said Joshua Devapriyan, Assistant Personnel Manager of G4S, a leading international security solutions group in Chennai.