Guwahati (The Stellar News): Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that education helps people to add value to their personality and urged students to develop their innovative skills to be successful in life. He said while attending Dr Banikanta Kakaty Merit Award presentation ceremony as chief guest at Numali Jalah parade ground, Amingaon in Kamrup district on Sunday.
The program was organised by Assam’s higher education department under ‘Pragyan Bharati’ scheme. Launching the award ceremony, Sonowal handed over scooter keys to five meritorious girl students. Noteworthy that the government under the scheme would provide scooters to meritorious girl students who have passed the higher secondary examination for the year 2020 in first division.
In Kamrup and Kamrup (metro) district 22,034 petrol driven scooters and 211 battery driven scooters would be provided to total 22,245 successful girl students with an expenditure of Rs 144.30 crore. Meritorious girl students of other districts would be given the award on 2 and 3 January next year. Sonowal while congratulating the meritorious students and their parents said that the red coloured scooters presented on the occasion would carry the success stories of the girl students in every nook & corner of the State. He said that the scheme would transform the lives of many girl students boosting their self-confidence besides inspiring many more to take up studies seriously. Exuding confidence on the abilities of the meritorious girl students Sonowal said that women have made their mark in every sphere of social life.
He termed the 21stcentury as the age of women and said that large scale joining of women in the three wings of the defence force of the country testifies the capabilities of the women folk. State education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while speaking on the
occasion said that the State government launched Dr Banikanta KakatyMerit Award in 2017-18 and presented scooters to
1000 girl students who secured first division. However, in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the award could not be presented due to several reasons, he said adding that the government has decided to give away the scooters to the meritorious girl students of that period which would benefit 5000 and 10000 students respectively.
State ministers Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Bhabesh Kalita also delivered speeches on the occasion where Parliamentarian Queen Oja, legislators Atul Bora, Pranab Kalita, Suman Haripriya and Rekibuddin Ahmed, education commissioner-secretary Pritam Saikia, Kamrup district magistrate Kailash Kartik, etc were also present.
