A study conducted by the Department of Public Administration at Punjabi University here has highlighted several gaps in the capacity-building and training programmes organised by the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) for elected representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions.
The study, carried out by Dr Ashwini Kumar under the supervision of Dr Renu, evaluated the effectiveness of training programmes conducted by the SIRD between 2019 and 2024.
It was based on data collected from three Punjab districts — Patiala, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur districts — representing different regions of Punjab.
The researchers surveyed 757 respondents, including 600 former panchayat representatives, 82 officials and employees, and 75 master trainers and training experts associated with the institute.
According to the findings, several challenges continue to affect the training system. These include delays in reaching all elected representatives, inadequate availability of training material, limited use of digital tools and modern training resources, and insufficient dissemination of information regarding government welfare schemes.
The study recommended ensuring timely training in line with the National Capacity Building Framework (2022) preparing stakeholder-specific training modules, conducting regular training need assessments, filling vacant faculty positions in the SIRD and upgrading training centres with modern infrastructure.
It also stressed the need for exposure visits to high-performing gram panchayats, more interactive training methods, greater use of information and communication technology and a robust feedback, monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
Dr Renu said that while extensive literature on Panchayati Raj training programmes was available in other states, similar research in Punjab was limited.
Vice-Chancellor Jagdeep Singh congratulated the researcher and the supervisor, saying the study would serve as a valuable guide for improving training programmes for elected panchayat representatives and officials.
