Even as Chief of Defence Staff Brig Gen Ken Maharaj lauded the work of the Defence Force in the role it has been playing in turning around the lives of at-risk youths through the Milat/Mypart programme, the Military Led Youth Programme of Apprenticeship and Reorientation Training (Mypart), which was conceived to help at-risk young men aged 15-20 years, has been removed from the Ministry of National Security and could mean the end of the involvement of the military.
At a Mylat/Mypart graduation ceremony at Tetron Barracks yesterday Brig Maharaj spoke of the creation of the programmes in 2007, to treat with this country “so challenged by the ill-consequences of crime and criminal behaviour, or by the actions of those who are misguided, or youth at risk.” The programme, he said, was designed to “restore some level of realignment or recalibration, if you may, of both character and competence,” to its participants.
He said the military’s involvement in the programmes spoke to the organisation being professional and modern and “a nurturer of the patriotic spirit and a leader in building character.” However, the transfer of the Mypart programme to the Ministry of Tertiary Education may lead to the programme losing that military input.
Sunday Guardian attempted to get a response from Maj David Nagessar, who is now the Mypart programme manager, as to how the programme would be run in the future. Maj Nagessar, almost dismissing those concerns, said that he is in charge of the programme and he is retired military so he does not expect anything to change. He told the Guardian that the programme would now be run by retired members of the military.
New programme director for the now separated Milat (Military-Led Academic Training) programme told the graduates that they have been trained for the complexities of today’s missions, “knowing that success will be measured not merely by performance in the workplace, but also by your understanding of the cultures and traditions and needs in the places where you serve.”