Centre to examine Entrepreneur College

SHILLONG, DEC 19: The union government is examining the proposal for setting up of an Entrepreneur College in Garo hills, which is infested by militancy related problem, to address the unemployment problem faced by the youths.

This was assured by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Enterpreneurship & Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal during a meeting with a delegation of five ngos from Garo Hills in New Delhi recently.

“He (Sonowal) has assured to examine and look into the matter at the earliest,” NGOs said.

In a joint memorandum submitted to the minister, the ngos had requested the central government to help the indigenous people of Garo hills by introducing the idea of nurturing future entrepreneurs by setting up an entrepreneur college.

“It is need of the hour for such an institute in the region as it may help alleviate the current problem of both educated and uneducated unemployment,” the ngos said.

According to the ngos, self-employment and entrepreneurial ventures should be an option as white collar jobs leaves majority out from employment in the government sectors.

Highlighting the problems faced by the youths who would like to start a venture or dream of becoming entrepreneurs, the ngos said, “The greatest hurdle to self-employment being the technical and business aspect of knowledge and pooling and utilization of available resources in Garo hills.”

“The second being the availability or monetary constraints and the lack of knowledge to avail the government schemes, subsidies and facilities to help start-ups of businesses,” the ngos said.

According to the ngos, the banking institutions also need assurances and trust in the capability of a person approaching monetary institutions to finance their venture. The educational credentials and technical knowhow of a person who have graduated from such an institution like an entrepreneurial college will instill confidence in the banking sector to finance the ventures and entrepreneurships

Any business setups needs data to market their services or products to the customers. An entrepreneurial college can help with consultative services and proper implementation of the available resources and also with marketing strategies, the ngos said.- By Our Reporter