New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) on Monday announced its plans to start a six-month certificate programme in 'community radio' from January next year.

IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai informed that the programme will be launched in partnership with the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

He also said that over 150 scholarships will be on offer for students opting for the course. Plus two pass-outs and community workers working towards raising the socio-economic profile of the marginalized will be entitled for the scholarships.

"The course will generate quality hands to operate the community radio stations. The scholarships will act as an encouragement, not only for IGNOU, but also for those who wish to learn the arts and crafts of community radio broadcasts", Prof. Pillai further said.

Addressing a two-day conference on Community Radio organized on September 29-30 here, Prof. Pillai said, "This is the first-of-its-kind community radio conference organized by any academic institution in India to bring together practitioners, experts and academicians of the field at one common platform for content planning in community radio".

The certificate programme will also include a ten-day compulsory internship during which students will get a chance to interact with the councilor. This will help students to understand the complete functioning of a community radio station.

Community radio uses the FM transmission mode of low range reach. It has played a pivotal role in cyclone and flood-affected areas, saving hundreds of lives through early warning, besides spreading awareness on social issues.