Odisha Needs ‘Aware And Responsive’ Youth Who Can Bring Positive Changes In Society: CM

Bhubaneswar: As many as 274 lecturers joined state non-government aided degree colleges on Tuesday — 156 of them in English, 117 in Political Science and one in Mathematics. An induction programme was organised at the state convention centre in Lok Sewa Bhawan.

Joining the programme in virtual mode, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said all the teachers will have a significant role in improving college education and providing a boost to our higher education eco-system.

He asked the new lecturers to not limit student’s knowledge only to the syllabus.

He urged the political science teachers to help students learn from society and understand the real socio-political issues of current society. “We need ‘aware and responsive’ youth who can bring positive changes to society in a democratic set-up like ours,” he added.

Speaking on English education, he said, “We also need quality education in English language. Knowledge in English can help the students to understand global issues better and their impact on us. With increasing globalisation of economy, it can help them learn adequate skills better and make them competitive in job markets.”

He further said that Odisha is now a leading state in higher education. It’s in fact steadily becoming a hub of higher education with top technology and professional institutions opening their centres in the state. However, traditional degree education is essential for youngsters to understand society and learn skills to face the challenges of changing environment in society, he added.

Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari highlighted the initiatives taken up by his department to improve the higher education environment of the state. He said as per CM’s direction, “we are making endeavours to create world class opportunities for students”.

Development Commissioner P K Jena said the CM is working for a new Odisha and we all have a responsibility to transform the state. He expected the lecturers to transform young minds in this direction.

Three new recruits Nafisa Alli, Rohit Parabhoi and Nibedita Patel shared their experiences on the recruitment process. They thanked the CM for the 5T initiative for which the process has been “extremely fair, transparent and quick”.

Interacting with the new lecturers, Secretary to CM (5T) V K Pandian described how the CM gives utmost importance to transparency in public life. “For the Chief Minister, the entire state is his family and each citizen has a right to fair and merit based opportunity in every field,” he added.

Principal Secretary (Higher Education) Bishnupada Sethi gave the welcome address.