GUWAHATI, March 24 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today underlined the need to expand science and technology education in Assam, and described it as vital to the development of the state.
Addressing a gathering of students and teachers of NETES Institute of Technology and Science (NITS), Mirza, he said growth of knowledge is a key to open up new possibilities in areas such as agriculture and employment generation. He emphasized that the human resource in the state is at par with the rest of the country. With innovation and creativity much more can be achieved in important sectors.
Gogoi formally launched Paryavaran Monitoring, a gadget to monitor temperature and humidity, which are to be distributed free to 300 schools across the North East. He lauded the effort of the developers behind it, and stated that the device would be useful to acquire precise weather data. In the backdrop of climatic changes, collection and use of such data would be a boon for the state.
Students of schools who won prizes in a contest to help design a �fish robot� were honoured on the occasion. NITS, Mirza will be handing over the cash prizes to the school authorities for development of their science education infrastructure. The awards were sponsored by the Usha Kamal Gogoi Trust.
In his address, local MLA Jatin Mali mentioned the educational opportunities of the Mirza Palasbari region, and recalled the expansion of higher education in the recent past. However, he was of the belief that a section of locals would greatly benefit from new schools. He requested the Chief Minister to consider setting up model schools in the Palasbari constituency.
He congratulated NITS Mirza for promoting high quality technical education and expressed his intent to be associated with the college.
Prof AK Gogoi of NITS Mirza introduced the gadget developed by students to measure temperature and humidity, and explained its working principles. For the first time the gadget would help create a wide network that will gather real-time weather data from some of the remotest parts of the state. Gradually more parameters will be included in the system to record precipitation and wind force.
Earlier, noted science educator Arup Misra provided an overview of NITS Mirza, and mentioned the facilities that set it in the forefront of engineering studies. Guided by highly qualified faculty, students have access to remote labs, robotics lab, and other learning aids.
Today�s programme was part of Sastricas 2012, the annual techno cultural fest of NITS, Mirza. Several innovators from different parts of Assam were introduced to the audience, and a short film on their technical breakthroughs was screened.
