Edu system to gain by providing opportunities to women

Tiruchirapalli, Dec 4 (UNI) The University Grants Commission (UGC)'s, Standing Committee for Women's Studies member Susheela Kaushik has said that the education system would be the ultimate beneficiary in providing decision-making opportunities to women in institutions of higher learning.

Inaugurating a five-day workshop on the topic organised by the Centre for Women's Studies, Bharathidasan University, here yesterday, she said sensitisation workshops on 'Capacity building of women in higher education' should be held in all colleges and this exercise would improve human resource utilisation significantly.

Ever since the UGC upgraded the programme into a scheme in 2005, 71 such workshops had been organised and committed sections of participants were identified for percolating the sensitisation initiative to the level of colleges, she added.

She pointed out that following the current initiative to encourage women to take up decision-making roles, the next phase of training would focus on imparting skills of negotiation and on how to face pressure and challenges after assuming leadership roles.

In his Presidential address, University Vice-Chancellor M Ponnavaikko said while women had inherent managerial abilities and could succeed if given an opportunity, the issue of lesser women in administrative and managerial capacities must be seen against the backdrop of inadequate women literacy in the preceding generation.

UNI