Bhalessa Doda (Jammu & Kashmir): The Special Study Centre (No. 1264_D), Bhalessa of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has initiated a motivational strategy to attract the militancy-prone misguided youth in Jammu & Kashmir to avail the opportunities of the programmes offered by the university.

The Centre is perpetuating a series of seminars & debates and an awareness campaign, with help from local NGO - National Students Welfare Association (NSWA), to make the youth familiar with the courses and objectives of the university.

Mr. Sadaket Malik, coordinator of the Centre, and his team has come to the forefront to make the area educationally advanced, by attracting as many students as possible towards higher education.

Bhalessa - located 350 kilometers away from Jammu, the winter capital of J&K, is a border area connecting the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.

The tattering education system and lack of information and rural information centres has led the youth of the area to become an easy prey of nefarious designs.

"In view of the tattering educational affairs of the area, the NSWA is constantly working for peace and education. It has brought about a revolution in the educational opportunities available in the Bhalessa area", opined local citizen and retired Zonal Educational Officer, Mir Munwar Din.

This is the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir that any NGO has taken this initiative to collaborate with IGNOU for running its Study Centre.

Interestingly, the Centre is financed and managed by the NGO from its own fund (rent of the building, and salary of the part time connected staff). The honorarium of the academic counselors @ Rs.350 per block and other charges of assignment evaluation and salary of coordinator @ Rs.3000 per month is borne by the university.