Ker mulling to make anti-graft training must for govt staff

The CPI-M led LDF regime in Kerala is mulling to make mandatory a six-day anti-corruption induction training for the government service officials in the state.
The induction training programme, claimed to be the first of its kind in the country, will be launched next week as part of efforts to make the government service corruption-free.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau is the nodal agency for the implementation of the ambitious initiative to cover new recruits and select existing employees.
Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas said the government was mulling to make the programme mandatory for the new recruits soon.
He said employees of 12 departments like health, police, local-self government and so on, which have direct contact with the public, would be covered under the programme this year.

The syllabus of the training would cover lessons of good governance, information on anti-corruption law, models of good governance aspects, sensitisation to the perils of corruption among others.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the programme at the Institute of Management in Government here on February 27, he said.
"It is for the first time that such an anti-corruption induction training programme is launched anywhere in the country," Thomas told PTI.
"The core objective of our training is to create a mindset against corruption and make the employees prepare to fight against the menace. Besides fresh employees, training will be imparted to the existing employees also," he said.

Not only the employees of government departments but those of universities, state-run boards and corporations also have to undergo the training, he added.
The training will be imparted in two categories -- for the new recruits and for the select existing ones.
Of the six days training, the initial training will be for three days and the second round will be after two or three months, he added.
Those officials who showcased good and corruption-free governance fighting challenges and not succumbing to pressures in their career would be selected for imparting training under the initiative, Thomas said.
Around five lakh government employees are working in various government departments of Kerala.