Education is the backbone of progress: Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi

GUWAHATI: Assam Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi said that higher education is a fundamental enabler of social, economic, scientific and intellectual progress and therefore, asked the Vice Chancellors to use higher education as a ladder for individual and social advancement.

Addressing a Vice Chancellors' meeting in Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi said that Assam has a good history of higher education to inspire the faculty and other administrative staff to work, strengthen and illuminate the universities as fountain of knowledge and learning. Vice Chancellors as the role model in the institutions of higher learning should work as a force multiplier to train the human resources to catalyse the development of the State as well as the nation.

Stating that India has the proud privilege to be a home to the oldest university in the world, Prof. Mukhi said that Nalanda which enrolled 10,000 students from all over Asia in its campus proved its prowess on intellectual superiority and critical analyses which could be of relevance at modern trends in pedagogy today. He also said that investing in people through higher education and education in general has an omnibus impact on nation-building which once pays its dividends in perpetuity. He, therefore, asked the VCs to use their expertise to strengthen and enrich the foundation of higher education in universities and their curriculum to hone the human resources.

Prof. Mukhi said that India with over 990 universities is home to one of the largest higher education ecosystems in the world. Constant efforts are being made to improve their standards and convert them into global knowledge hubs. With this intention in view, a draft for New Education Policy 2019 has been prepared to give the country a new aperture to express the aspirational and motivational virtues of education. He also urged the VCs to use their wisdom and infrastructural capabilities to lay out the path for transforming Indian education landscape suited to 21stcentury needs, a press release said.

Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya also present at the meeting said that Assam can be the heart of education of India as it has the potential resources. He also said that with the advancement of science and technology needs to be studied.

Education advisor to the Government of Assam Prof. M.K. Chaudhuri, Additional Chief Secretary Higher Education Manindar Singh, Principal Secretary-Agriculture Rajesh Prasad, Commissioner and Secretary to Governor Sanjib Kumar Gohain Barua and the Vice-Chancellors of Tezpur University, Gauhati University, Assam Down Town University, Dibrugarh University, Assam Agricultural University, Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University, Assam Rajiv Gandhi University of Co-operative Management, Cotton University, Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, Assam Science & Technology University, National Law University & Judicial Academy, Madhavdev University, Bhattadev University, Rabindranath Tagore University, Majuli University, Srimanta Sankardeva University of Health Sciences, Assam Women's University, Bodoland University were present at the meeting, a press release said.

Also Read: Media should play role of moral watchdog: Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi

Also Watch: AASU Rally Against CAA 2019 in Kokrajhar