SHILLONG, JULY 9: Even as seventy topper of SSLC and HSSLC of Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) were felicitated by the ERD Foundation of Guwahati in collaboration with the University of Science & Technology of Meghalaya (USTM) at the Anton hall on Tuesday morning, eminent scientist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor Prof. Asis Dutta, appealed to the younger generation from Northeast to work towards development of agriculture and farm products during an interaction with students during his visit to the USTM in 9th mile in the afternoon.
During the felicitation ceremony in the morning at Anthon hall, former chief minister DD Lapang said earlier Shillong was a seat of quality and higher education from the British time but lamented that the standard of education in Meghalaya is gradually falling and corrective steps have to be taken in this regard.
Lapang felt that private players in the education sector can play a vital role in uplifting education and making Shillong the centre of learning in the northeast as government alone cannot meet the demand for catering to the educational needs of the state and the north eastern region.
The felicitation programme was also attended by the Leader of Opposition Donkupar Roy, former Meghalaya education minister Manas Chaudhuri, NEHU vice chancellor besides other academicians.
After the felicitation programme was over, a panel discussion on “ Higher Education in Meghalaya: Challenges Ahead” was also organized. The discussion was moderated by Manas Chaudhuri.
Later on the day, Prof Dutta interacted with students, scholars and faculty members at the USTM campus at 9th mile and told them, “Science is a journey not a destination. The road to success is always…under construction”
Prof Dutta warned that the world population will increase to 10 billion by 2050 and this will lead to an increase in demand for food up to1.7 times even as there will be a drastic decline in cultivable land to less than 0.15 hectares per capita. He said this will lead to crop loss draught, salinity, disease and post-harvest losses.
However Prof Dutta said that there is a way to overcome this problem by turning to the Genetically Modified crops will be the only answer. He, therefore, urged the student community
Prof Dutta also said that northeast India has a very fertile area and the the youngsters can contribute to its growth by bringing in new techniques in agriculture and increase food production. He said, “What really matters at the end of the day is your contribution to the society.”
Along with Prof. Dutta, Dr. PK Seth, CEO of Biotechnology Park, of UP government, and former director of Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow also visited the university campus and interacted with the students, scholars and faculty members.
The interactive session was conducted in the presence of all the senior faculty of USTM, including Dr. PG Rao, pro-chancellor (Honorary) of USTM, Dr. CR Sarkar, registrar of USTM, Dr. Aloka Sharma, Dean School of Business Sciences, Dr. D Baishya, Dean School of Media Sciences and Cultural Studies among others.- By Our Reporter
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