JORHAT, Sept 25 � Taking part as the chief guest in AAU Agri Alumni Meet of the College of Agriculture under Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat today, Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma, Education Minister, Government of Assam, said that vocational education would be introduced in the secondary level in the State within a short span of time.
�From class IX in high schools, the students will be scrutinised to ascertain who will take the conventional education and who will be interested in vocational education,� said Sharma.
There will be two sections in the class one of which will be trained with vocational skills along with the textbooks specially prepared for them. The students would have the liberty to choose whether they will carry on the vocational education in the higher secondary and college level or switch to the conventional education.
�This system will be introduced in 100 schools in the State in the next year on an experimental basis�, said Dr Sharma addressing the meeting.
He further said that the students doing the vocational course would be able to get the same evaluation all over the country on the basis of National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework. He also requested the AAU to lend a helping hand to prepare the vocational course on the subjects like horticulture and pisci-culture.
He also said that the three universities in the state namely Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University and Assam Agricultural University (AAU) were requested to submit a vision document each in a meeting with the Vice-chancellors in the December this year on what these universities would do in the next five years. On the basis of this proposed five-year plan, the State Government would decide to provide financial and other aids to these universities for the development of the research works.
Pointing out the controversy on turning the historic Cotton College into a University he said that the state government has followed the model of 1969 according to which the College of Agriculture was turned into Assam Agricultural University during the tenure of the Assam Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha.
He also said that electricity would be the most necessary component of agriculture within a short period of time. So, the producing more electricity in the state would benefit the cultivators in the state who stopped using the machines in agriculture due to the growing cost of petroleum fuels.
He also said that to keep the dignity of agricultural work the cultivators should be provided more autonomy. Cultivation should be treated as a full time occupation in the whole year by doing multiple cropping.
Nilamani Sen Deka, Minister of Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Assam also emphasized on multiple cropping in the state.
Pallav Lochan Das, MLA, Behali constituency was also present in the meeting.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of AAU, Dr KM Bujarbaruah offered the welcome address.
Yesterday, the two-day-long AAU Agri Alumni Meet of the College of Agriculture under Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat was inaugurated by noted agricultural scientist and the retired Vice-Chancellor of Assam Agricultural University Dr Badan Chandra Borthakur. He, being one of the oldest of all ex-students who studied here during the decades of late 40s, remembered the close association with the former renowned professors at that time.
Dr PG Rao, Director of North East Institute of Science and technology, Jorhat who was one of the distinguished guests in the function discussed the co-operation of both AAU and NEIST in the field of agricultural research.
Another former student of the College of Agriculture, Jorhat and now the Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland Central University Dr BK Konwar also recalled the old day reminiscences in his speech yesterday. He said that the students of agriculture should take a vow to work for the weaker and poor section of the society.
Dr KM Bujarbaruah, Vice-Chancellor, AAU, discussed the importance of the alumni meet and the responsibilities of the former students towards the society. Dr Bujarbaruah also released the souvenir entitled Fragrance of Green Memories on this occasion yesterday.
In the evening, the show of fireworks from Borpeta was in the AAU playground. Last night a cultural function was also organized in this connection in which the popular singers Zubeen Garg and Jubli were the main attractions.
