Gov asks passing out students to pay back to society
NIRJULI, 18 Feb: Seventy-three meritorious students received gold medals in different disciplines, 97 students received PhD degrees, 468 students were awarded M Tech, MSc and MBA degrees, 649 students received their BTech and BSc degrees, five students received diplomas, and 512 students were given certificates in engineering trades for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years during the 8th convocation of the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST) at its campus here on Friday.
Governor BD Mishra, who presided over the convocation, congratulated the students who were awarded degrees and gold medals, and said that “now it is time that they pay back to the society.”
Reminding the passing out students of their fundamental duties as enshrined in the Constitution, the governor advised them to “make sacrifices for higher good; that is, for the society and the nation.”
Addressing the continuing students, the governor advised them to “set goals, work hard and take active part in games, sports and extracurricular activities.” He exhorted them to be self-motivated and mission-oriented.
Mishra called upon the faculty members to “promote the teaching-learning process within as also beyond the classroom schedules.” He asked them to be “a coach, friend, philosopher and guide for their students.”
The NERIST being an important technical institution of the Northeast region, the governor said, “The benchmark it attains must be a technical touchtone for the future progress of the region. Excellent administrative management, good teaching, quality education, hi-tech researches and concept papers must be hallmarks of NERIST.”
He also advised the institute to concentrate on “the local needs-oriented study programmes,” such as all-weather roads, designing suitable drainage systems, earthquake resistant houses and buildings, technical expertise in arresting erosions, especially on the slopes near roadsides, multi-cropping methods, zero water wastage irrigation, and water harvesting.
The governor, who is the president of the NERIST Society, stressed on having “a complete academic atmosphere with hundred percent class attendances, timely cent percent admission, on-time examination, on-time result declaration, fearless campus environment, and maintaining the sanctity of the hostels by creating disciplined study atmosphere.”
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who also attended the convocation, expressed hope that the students of the institute would not only succeed in their future endeavours but would also be harbingers of socioeconomic transformation in the country.
Terming education “the cornerstone in the foundation of nation-building,” the minister asked the students to “harmonize the traditional learning in philosophy, law and medicine with the modern Indian learning ecosystem.”
Speaking about the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Rijiju said that “the policy has a holistic vision of transforming the way children and youth will be educated and making learning a part of personal development while also serving the need of society.”
“The goal of technology is to make a difference in the lives of the common people. It has to be accessible to the masses. It must be harnessed, so that the people in general get an easy solution to some of the intrinsic problems they have been facing over the years, and I am confident that NERIST is playing an instrumental role in making the students equipped with enough knowledge to deal with social challenges,” he added.
The minister said there is a need to build a large pool of scientific and technical manpower to aid the state’s progress. “This demographic transformation must be leveraged by us by expanding technical education in the country,” he said.
Stating that women in the northeastern states enjoy an almost equal space in decision-making and community participation, Rijiju said that “the NERIST can lead the way by providing need-based training to women on entrepreneurship development and setting up small-scale businesses.”
Earlier, NERIST Director Prof HS Yadav presented a brief on the institute and its achievements in the past three years. (Raj Bhavan & DIPR)
