GUWAHATI, Aug 22 - It is high time for the Assamese society to encourage its youths to take to agricultural activities, devoting at least some of their spare time for agricultural production and conservation of nature, observed noted academician Prof Mohan Chandra Kalita of the Biotechnology Department of Gauhati University (GU).
Prof Kalita, a former Head of the Department of GU Biotechnology Department and a scientist of repute, said that the campuses of the educational institutions of the State could be turned into production centres and centres for developing human resources for productive purposes as well.
With this aim in view, campuses of the educational institutions should be opened for agro-horticultural activities with the involvement of the students and the teachers should be encouraged to come forward to extend support to their students in this respect, he said.
There are educational institutions in which a large number of students stay in the hostels and most of them are from rural background. They find enough free time during their holidays and also on the Sundays. They can easily grow crops like banana, citrus, papayas, pineapple, pumpkins, a few seasonal vegetables and other indigenous fruits. On top of all these activities, the educational institutions can also take steps to develop ponds for production and conservation of indigenous fishes, Kalita said.
He informed that during his interaction with some GU students, he found that there is keenness among the students to take to such activities, which they described as �constructive.� They also expressed the hope that such activities would strengthen the bond of unity among the students, and encourage them to take to group work and physical and mental exercises as well.
Kalita observed that this will in the long run send a very positive signal to the society.
Such activities will also help in familiarising the youths with the rich bio-resources of the State and in bringing them closer to nature, said Kalita, referring to a University Grants Commission (UGC) observation that there is the need to align higher education with the emerging needs of economy so as to ensure that the graduates acquire adequate knowledge and skills for employment and entrepreneurship.
In the light of the UGC observations, it has become very crucial to introduce agricultural education from elementary level to university level as an integral part of curriculum, he said.
