After a long wait the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) opened its centre here on Sunday, thanks to the initiatives taken by Takshila Educational Society (TES). Named as Centre for Development Practice & Research (CDPR), this will work towards strengthening developmental initiatives by Bihar State, civil society and other stakeholders through cutting edge teaching, research, field action projects and short term teaching and learning programmes.
The inaugural programme of the collaboration of TISS with TES held at DPS, Patna was attended by policy makers, development workers and representatives from bureaucracy, academia and civil society. “The CDPR will establish collaboration with the Government of Bihar, universities and institutions and civil society organisations,” said TISS director Prof S Parasuraman.
TES, the promoters of DPS Patna, ludhiana, Pune and Coimbatore will provide infrastructural support and associated facilities to the Centre, said TES secretary Sanjeev Kumar. TISS is a premier social science university with the second highest NAAC rating in the country. Kumar said, “TES vision behind bringing TISS to Bihar is to provide research scholars from the State the same quality and level of resource and faculty that TISS is known for and towards crystallization of this vision.”
The Centre, said in-charge of TISS Patna Centre Pushpendra Kumar, will invite PhD research scholars and post doctoral scholars on fellowship to pursue research in the priority areas and disseminate research output in the form of publication. The key research areas are likely to migration and development, rural employment and livelihood, elementary education, so0cial welfare and public health. He said the centre will also organize summer and winter schools on the thrust areas of of its research. To begin with it will hold a winter school on migration, a major problem in Bihar. The course will address conceptual and methodological issues in migration studies.
Prof Parasurman, who specially flew in from Mumbai to attend the inaugural function was impressed with Bihar saying it has made amazing progress in one decade. He said the centre will provide certificate, degree and diploma programmes. Bihar principal secretary of education D S Gangwar who also addressed the gathering expressed happiness over the opening of the TISS centre.