The Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launched an online portal TAPAS on 14 August 2021. It is jointly developed by the National Institute of Social Defence, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Ministers of State (MoS) Ramdas Athawale and Pratima Bhoumik were also present at the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar congratulated the NISD team for the initiative and said that the online medium of learning will enable the Ministry in reaching out to a larger number of people working in the area of social defence.
He urged everyone to enrol for the course for a better understanding of issues such as substance abuse prevention, elderly care, transgender welfare and beggary prevention.
“In our education system, where the offline mode of teaching is so deeply entrenched, this course will lead the path of change and open up new possibilities. There is no dearth of respect and regard for our age-old guru-shishya parampara, but there’s no reason why it can’t be transited to the online medium. Hence, let us embark on this new journey and increase our horizon when it comes to learning and gaining knowledge,” Dr. Virendra Kumar said.
What is TAPAS?
A joint initiative of NISD and MoSJE
TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services) is a joint initiative of the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
It facilitates access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more in a manner that supplements the physical classroom without compromising on the quality of teaching.
It also includes discussion forums to support and encourage interactions among students and course coordinators.
Objective of TAPAS
The main objective of introducing the course modules is to impart training and enhance the knowledge and skills for the capacity building of the participants.
Courses offered by TAPAS
The five basic courses are on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on the comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.
Who can take up the course?
TAPAS is a standard MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platform with course material such as filmed lectures and e-study material. It can be taken up by anyone who wishes to enhance his or her knowledge on the topics free of cost.
Quadrant Approach of TAPAS
The platform has been made with a quadrant approach-- Video, Text, Self Assessment and Discussions.
There will be a virtual class where an expert will give a lecture about the subject with the help of animated infographics and Powerpoint presentations. The participants will be provided with informative material like articles, case studies and other study material on the related topic, which can be downloaded for future reference.
After completing each module, students can assess their understanding of the subject with the help of a multiple-choice quiz. There is also a discussion forum on the portal on which they can raise their doubts with the course coordinator.
The idea was conceptualised at a time when exploring the online medium for work and education had become imperative due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) wanted maximum participation of stakeholders and volunteers working in the field of social defence for better training and capacity building.
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