Training Goal: 

·        Enabling Karmadhyakshyays to monitor the process of Decentralised Information Management Initiative and provide supportive supervision to all the subsequent stakeholders at Panchayat Samiti and block level.

·          Enabling Panchayat Samiti Sabhapatis to analyse development indicators and plan subsequent actions in collaboration with the Block Development Officer.

 Training Objectives:

·           Familiarising computers and basic software to elected representatives of Dakshin Dinajpur district. The elected representatives include both Karmadhyakshyays of Zilla Parishad as well as Sabhapatis of Panchayat Samitis.

·         Enabling them to analyse information on a Geographic Information System and plan subsequent steps for improvement.

·         Enabling them to use computers easily and understand it so that computer fright does not become a hindrance later.

·         Making them familiar with the internet, sending and receiving emails, basic tenets of information technology and understanding the importance for monitoring and planning strategic action in their own area.

  Training Report:

        The female Karmadhyakshyas and Sabhapatis of Dakshin Dinajpur did not have any familiarity with computers. Thus the training started with a very simple explanation of the physical parts of the computer. Slowly they were acquainted with the mouse, the keyboard, the monitor. In a very short time they realized that the mouse was to a computer what a hand was to a human being. Familiarizing the mouse was done through simple computer games that the trainees played and enjoyed. When the first session of 1^st day’s training came to an end they were easy with the left and right buttons of the mouse.

Once the trainees were easy with the mouse, they were introduced to simple operations like opening and closing folders, exploring windows, cutting off and pasting files etc. Eventually they learnt to type letters in Ms Word, format their paragraphs and create tables for themselves. All of them showed keen interest when they started typing their names. Those who were easy learners helped others who were falling back.

At the end of the first day, they went on a trip to a boating resort where they enjoyed themselves for an hour. On the second day, the trainees had a small refresher of the first day’s exercise followed by a short session on Ms Excel, where the trainees learnt to use the spreadsheet, use formulae and auto sum processes, auto text and creating charts. The afternoon of the second day was taken up by a Geographic Information System (GIS) software called WhizMap. They learnt to navigate through WhizMap and a number of queries pertaining to Census information of India, West Bengal and their own district Dakshin Dinajpur created considerable interest in them. At the end of the day, when Dr. M.N.Roy, Secretary, Panchayats and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal came for a small visit, the trainees moved their mouse to the GIS of their own blocks and clicked on them to demonstrate their extent of learning. Some of them also said that they needed computers in every Panchayat Samiti now. Dr. M.N Roy said that financial arrangements to create computer rooms at Panchayat Samitis had already been made.

On the third day of the training, the trainees learnt to enter the internet and email each other. They were also surprised to find their own picture on the internet. At the end of the third day, one of the trainees said-‘ now we won’t need to bother other people for information. We can simply collect it from the internet.’