GUWAHATI, Sept 22 - The Assam College Teachers� Association (ACTA) and Vivekananda Kendra have decided to conduct a year-long social outreach programme to mark the occasion of 125th year of the Chicago speech by Swami Vivekananda.
�The year-long programme includes mainly yoga sessions in the colleges of Assam, involving lakhs of students. Teachers from various colleges of the State will subsequently be trained in yoga by the experts of Vivekananda Kendra. Those trained teachers will, in turn, run regular yoga sessions in their respective colleges for improving mental and physical fitness of the students,� said Dr Sanjib Kumar Goswami, assistant secretary (office & publicity), ACTA.
The joint venture also incorporates activities associated with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, personality development programmes, preservation of traditional cultural practices, creating awareness about preservation of biodiversity, eradication of superstitions, sharing of best practices, development of entrepreneurship based on local resources, etc.
The Director of Higher Education, Government of Assam, has already given an endorsement to the programme.
The year-long programme was centrally inaugurated at B Borooah College today by Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharyya.
In his speech, he lauded the efforts of the ACTA and Vivekananda Kendra for the outreach programme that would directly benefit the society in general and the students in particular.
The function was chaired by Biswajit Bhuyan, president, ACTA while Dr Satyen Barman, Principal, B Borooah College welcomed the gathering.
Himangshu Maral, general secretary of ACTA, explained the objectives of the year-long programme. Diganta Biswa Sarma, a follower of Swami Vivekananda and an appointed speaker of the inaugural function, laid emphasis on the universal traits in the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
Prof Parimal Bhattacharya also spoke on the occasion. The programme was attended by teachers from almost all the provincialised colleges of Assam.
