As part of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), the IIT Bhubaneswar on Friday opened science laboratories in two schools in two of the six villages adopted by it under the scheme.
IIT Bhubaneswar Director Prof RV Raja Kumar inaugurated the labs at the Argul High School and the Khudupur UP School in the presence of ADM Manoj Kumar Mohanty and Principals, teachers and students of the two schools.
Raja Kumar called upon the students to take best of the benefits out of the newly built labs.
“The best of brains can take birth anywhere, be it villages or urban areas. The present mission will help nurturing those brains in fulfilling the dreams of the schools,” he said
Raj Kumar called upon the students to come to the IIT campus in an open house programme to visit the labs and interact with the faculty. The JEE aspirants from the region can also take guidance under Personal Assistance learning (PAl) programme going to be organised by IIT Bhubaneswar shortly at its Samantapuri campus, he said.
Research and Development Dean Prof RK Panda said rural population, which is 68 per cent of the country’s population, can contribute significantly if nurtured properly at elementary school level. ADM Mohanty thanked the entire IIT management for initiating such a noble cause under the Central programme.
The programme was coordinated School of Basic Science’s Dr Seema Bahinipati.
The IIT has adopted six villages, including five villages in Khordha district (Arugul, Podapada, Kansapada, Khudupur and Padanpur) and Sunduria village in Jajpur district under the UBA.
Some of the issues to be addressed in the first phase are improvement in skill development for unemployed youth, quality of school education, sanitation, healthcare, awareness towards digital India and renewable energy use, informed an official release.