Teaching Development to the Communication students: challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The development sector in India had long not been viewed till recently as requiring communication
professionals. Communication for Development was like rendering assistance of non-technical nature,
which involved educating people on various development issues and promoting highly diverse and
unstructured activities. It was realized later that the development work required techno-managerial
assistance who are well- trained on communication strategies to reach out to the under-developed
communities. These communication professionals were such set of people who have exposure to multidisciplinary knowledge and training in development communication concepts and methods. The learning on
the approach to development reinforced this on the nature of input further. The significance of
communication for development approach in producing long-term outcomes became apparent. The strategy
was understood as providing learning to the local communities by organizing them so as to build their selfreliance. That is enabling them or “helping them to take care of themselves…do for themselves today what
others have done for them yesterday.” Otherwise, the approach involves building the capabilities of the
people or rigorous human resource development efforts. It requires qualified and trained professionals to
facilitate such a process.