Organised by the Lucknow Printers Association (LPA), the meeting was attended by Vinay Kumar Pathak, vice-chancellor, APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow; Kamal Chopra, vice-president (North), and chairman, International Relations, All India Federation of Master Printers; and Anand Limaye, immediate past Hony. general secretary, AIFMP. Others present at the meeting were Jawahar Lal Bhargava, president, and Harjinder Singh, general secretary, of Lucknow Printers Association.

During the meeting, Lucknow Printers Association (LPA) presented a detailed outline for the training of out-of-school and school dropouts. During his present, Chopra said, “Our concept is very simple. We, at LPA, wish to develop not only the industry. We are also interested in developing society by way of eradicating unemployment. Research shows that there is large number of school dropouts. About 63% of school students drop out at different stages before reaching Class X due to socio-economic circumstances of the family and the compulsions of earning a livelihood rather than attending a formal course. Very few opportunities for skill development are available for these out-of-school youths. With a little training, these youths can become skilled workers.

He then presented a detailed training module with syllabus and details about the system of training and certification.

Limaye, during his presentation, said higher education in printing is currently not available in Uttar Pradesh. Since the technology has completely changed, printing today is not only ink on paper; it is much more than that. Hence, for the growth of printing, it is necessary to start a degree-level printing course in the state so that in future generation we may not lag behind.

Limaye presented the statistics of the printing industry in India and Uttar Pradesh and stressed on the need for establishing a quality higher education institute/dedicated university in Uttar Pradesh.

Prof Pathak said both the above-mentioned points are correlated. “We need efficient workers as well as the qualified supervisors and managers. If LPA is ready to provide necessary assistance, we can start such courses in the state,” he said.

The hard copies of both the proposals were presented to Prof Pathak so that the concerned faculty of the university may go through these. After detailed discussion, both the proposals were accepted.

Prof Pathak agreed that the technical course for modular employable skills (MES) in printing could be taken up immediately at a polytechnic associated with the APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, only if LPA can provide students for such courses. It was also agreed that the certification of qualified students would be done by the university after following the prescribed procedure.

LPA will be responsible for 100% placement of the trained students. It will also allow the use of printing presses of its members for practical training of the students.