By Amin Kef Sesay
The High Commission of India in Sierra Leone and ITEC alumni in Sierra Leone on the 29th September 2021 celebrated the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation/ITEC Day in Freetown.
From what this medium learnt, India offers 60 slots every year to Sierra Leoneans for short, medium and long-term capacity building programmes. It must be noted that hundreds of Government officials as well as private sector employees have visited India for enhancing their skills through programmes offered under the ITEC Programme.
A number of participants, while sharing their experiences, elaborated on how the ITEC Programme has changed their careers, perceptions and lives.
The participants were taken on a short trip to India through a documentary, “A Day in the Life of India” which made them emotional about their own journeys to and stay in India.
Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner, Rakesh Arora, said that under the ITEC Programme, India provides more than 12,000 scholarships for over 300 short, medium and long-term capacity building courses to nationals from more than 150 countries.
He added that since 1964 the ITEC Programme has aimed at sharing India’s own development experiences with fellow developing countries on the basis of partnership and cooperation. ITEC offers country-specific and institution-specific courses which are demand-driven.
The High Commissioner also informed the audience that the Government of India took two new initiatives in 2019. The first one was the launch of eITEC, which is live online training; and the second is the ITEC-on-site, which involves ITEC resource persons visiting the partner country to deliver tailor-made courses.
In the recent past, the High Commission has coordinated training programmes for officials of the National Electoral Commission, Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition, India also provides 15 full scholarships to Sierra Leone for under-graduate and post-graduate courses in India. This year, 16 young Sierra Leoneans have been selected and will be leaving soon to study in various universities in India, the High Commissioner added.
Sierra Leone is also one of the beneficiaries of scholarships under India’s e-VidyaBharati or tele-education programme for online UG and PG courses from Universities in India. In the last three sessions, more than 200 students from Sierra Leone have enrolled and are pursuing various online courses. For them, a Learning Centre at Fourah Bay College, consisting of a Computer Lab & Multi-media Room has been established by the Government of India.
