The Russia Experience

by: Niranjan Chandrashekhar Cheriyamane

About the author: The author is an officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Central Excise) of 2008 batch. He is presently posted as Assistant Comissioner in Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate in Delhi. The views expressed by him in the article are his personal views. He visited RCA in 2011.

It was a rare privilege to be one among the five officers of the 2008 Batch, nominated to attend the 12-day Training Programme on “Customs Examination and related issues” in the Russian Customs Academy (RCA), Lubertsy, Moscow. The programme was in exchange to a similar visit to NACEN in March 2011 by five trainees of the RCA, pursuant to a 2006 MoU between the two apex training institutions on co-operation in capacity building and annual exchange of trainees.

The RCA stint was truly enriching and I returned a wiser man – professionally sounder and intellectually healthier. I, in this Article, have made an attempt to bring forth the essence of my RCA tenure, with special reference to the professional aspect of it, although cultural visits and cultural exchange were an important component of the RCA schedule. Because, above all, true justice to knowledge can only be done when knowledge is shared.

Fundamental difference in the nature and character of our Academies, i.e., NACEN vis-à-vis RCA: Student aspirants who choose to make Customs a career option seek admission to the RCA after their High School(Class X). The age bracket at entry is between 16-18 years. It is University for them, a 5-year Graduate Programme, a professional education-one could say. Marks/Grading in High School determine entry to RCA, unlike the competitive entry in India. Admissions are open to students from across the Russian Federation, with some seats earmarked for aspirants from the CIS countries also.

The RCA has three other Branches at Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don and St.Petersburg, the three cardinal points of the Russian mainland.

There are three broad streams of specialization in RCA:

(i) Customs Administration/Business (with Customs Assessment and

(ii) Customs Control/Prevention as components)

(ii) (Customs) Law

(iii) Economics

The RCA, Moscow has a total of around 3,000 students. The graduates have an option to pursue their own private practise. However, about 90% of the graduates do join the Federal Customs Service of Russia (FCSR). Some opt for post-graduation and doctoral studies and continue at the Academy for longer. 90% of the top management at RCA are retired Armed Forces or Paramilitary officers, who are rehabilitated here after their pensionable service. It may be noted here that with Russia’s vast land and sea frontiers and its dwindling male population, all men are obliged to compulsorily serve in the Army for one year.

Armed Forces officers are held in high regard by the State and still wield considerable clout in the higher echelons of the Russian administration. No wonder they run the show in the FCSR and the RCA as well.

Quality of training at RCA and lessons for NACEN: The training regimen at RCA is rigorous, technology-intensive and of a highly professional nature. It comprises of regular project work, assignments and surprise Tests. The students are always on their toes. The performance in the assignments and surprise Tests are reflected in the overall grading. The final six-months of the 5-year graduate programme is dedicated to Project work, where the students are on their own and are free to visit any field Customs Station relevant to their Project. The performance in the Project work assignment has a heavy bearing on the final marks/grading.

During the basic 5-year programme, apart from the academic Customs subjects, related disciplines such as History of Art, History of Science and Philosophy are taught. When asked about their relevance from one of the students, I was impressed to hear that knowledge of ‘History of Art’ enables the Customs officer to appreciate the quality and cultural significance of an object of Art; its vintage and artistic worth; and its originality or otherwise - thereby enabling in assessing its genuineness and market value.

‘Commodity expertise’, for instance, is a specialization within the ‘Customs Administration’ arm. This set of officers specialize in HSN classification of goods and ‘Laboratory Analysis’ is a predominant component of their training curriculum. We visited one of the Laboratories where a practical session was in progress and young turks there claimed they were ‘the best of the best!’. That is the pride they take in their chosen field of work, truly worthy of emulation.

The Russian Customs has state-of-the-art equipment and cutting edge technology deployed in its field stations, and almost all of these equipment are installed in the RCA laboratories for hands-on training.

The RCA, realized the significance of English in global communication, has compulsory English language training in the first two years of the 5-year programme. Perhaps, NACEN could take a leaf out of the RCA book and have one non-English Foreign Language in its curriculum as well. Also, the RCA is mature as an institution and has specialised Departments, including the “Department for International Co-operation” – which was dealing with us. NACEN could also evolve along these lines.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 748