US Ambassador to India Richard R Verma visited the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on Friday and interacted with the tribal students of the institute.
“It is amazing to see 25,000 children at one place. I have visited more than 70 countries, but I have never seen an institute,” he said in his address to the students.
“My parents and grandparents were from India. My father and my mother were teachers. My grandmother was also a teacher. However, my grandfather did not get scope for education,” Verma said, adding that condition of India at that time was bad, but now the country is emerging as a global power.
Education is the most important factor that opens floodgates of opportunities, he said, while telling the students to be proud of the education they are getting at the KISS.
Many children of the world do not have opportunity for education, he said, adding that Founder of KIIT & KISS Dr Achyuta Samanta has been doing a tremendous work for education through the two institutes.
Verma also inaugurated the English Access Micro-Scholarship Program of the US Government and distributed certificates to 16 students from the new Access class.
In his welcome address, Dr Samanta informed that two US Ambassadors to India had visited the KISS before Verma. However, Verma’s visit was very special because of his Indian roots, he added.