Soon after the South Asia Foundation (2000) was established, its very first undertaking was a workshop for training teachers from the two National Institutes of Bhutan under which 58 teachers learnt to use computers. They have since trained hundreds of other teachers and spread out to schools all over Bhutan. The success of this project encouraged SAF to enlarge the dimension of vocational training into a number of other fields across the South Asian countries.

In an innovative pilot SAF programme,
30 girls selected from remote
villages in Kashmir are being given a
nine-month training course in
pre-primary education at the Kashmir
University in Srinagar. They will
return home and set up their own
schools.

Starting from 2004, SAF vocational training programme will be enlarged by annually offering 1000 SAF Madanjeet Singh scholarships to young people eager to acquire skills through vocational training including South Asia’s renowned traditional handicrafts.

The scholarships will give talented young people the opportunity to develop their natural capabilities. The selection of candidates will be done by special committees set up by the SAF Chapters who will also identify suitable institutions. In India alone, there are over 4000 technical Institutes (ITIs), about 1600 polytechnics and some 7000 vocational study centres. Similar vocational training institutions are found in other South Asian countries.

A coordinated effort by SAF Chapters to implement the scholarship programme will not only promote regional cooperation but will greatly help in creating job opportunities and gainful employment for the winners of the scholarships.