Chiphen Rigpel – an ambitious human capacity building project, implemented by NIIT and launched by The Royal Government of Bhutan in partnership with Government of India (GoI), has successfully completed five years. The project was initiated on April 30, 2010 on the sidelines of the SAARC summit held in Bhutan. This GoI assisted project was designed to empower the people of Bhutan to transition into a modern Knowledge Society.
NIIT’s impeccable execution of this project over the last five years and the successful completion on time and within budget and to the fullest satisfaction of the varied groups of learners was well appreciated by all the stakeholders present at the Closing Ceremony held at Thimphu, Bhutan.
As part of the Chiphen Rigpel project, NIIT has imparted ICT skills to over 1,25,000 learners and in turn touched the lives of more than 30 per cent of Bhutan’s population. The project has six components that include – enabling e-governance, empowering teachers and taking ICT to schools, enabling employability, furnishing tertiary institutes with ICT training centres, reaching the unreached all over the nation, and managing e-waste. Chiphen Rigpel reaches out to all sections of Bhutanese society including national leaders, civil servants, local government, teachers, schoolchildren, youth, underprivileged children and the monastic body.
Under the Project, NIIT imparted computer education and computer aided education services to 168 Government Higher Secondary Schools covering classes VII to XII. It provided 5,204 certifications to the teachers thus enabling them to use ICT tools in the teaching – learning process to enhance their effectiveness. NIIT provided e-governance literacy to 7396 government Leaders, civil servants, officials, managers and executives. Under the project NIIT set up 16 training facilities to provide high-end IT training, vocational IT training, basic IT literacy and provide 20,541 certifications.
The project bridged the rural-urban digital divide and provided access to education for remote and rural citizens. NIIT set-up 131 Playground Learning Stations (PLS) as part of Community Centres bringing the rural population into the ICT fold. Awareness for e-waste management has been created along with formulation of a strategy for further implementation. Also training programmes conducted for the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications, National Environment Council, Municipalities and Local Government.
