Assam to set up State Research Foundation: Himanta

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that his government will set up a State Research Foundation in line with the National Research Foundation as envisaged in NEP-2020.

The proposed Research Foundation is expected to promote innovative research with quantifiable outcomes for transformational reforms in the education sector, the chief minister said at a conference on the implementation of NEP 2020 in Assam as a follow up of the Varanasi Conclave.

The Conference was organised by the Governor’s Secretariat in partnership with the Higher Education Department of the state government.

“We are committed to implement NEP 2020 for qualitative improvement of education. The fact that we have earmarked six percent of the state’s GDP for education speaks volume of our intent to develop our human resources… “, Sarma said

As a part of the NEP 2020, the government will take steps for enabling higher educational institutions to focus on experimental learning, integrating cross-curricular pedagogy and holistic education with focus on the Indian knowledge system, he said.

The government is also in the process of establishing a holistic governance framework to cover academic affairs with accountability, research and digitization, Sarma added.

The department of higher education will collaborate with other related departments to develop skill and training modules to up-skill the potential workforce for industry as per market requirements to help the students with the start-up ecosystem and entrepreneurial ventures.

The chief minister also said that his government has decided to establish four nano-incubation centres at Bongaigaon, Silchar, Dibrugarh and Tezpur to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship.

Faculty members will be trained for capacity building to help students not just as teachers, but also as mentors and guides’.

The NEP 2020 is a part of the Prime Minister’s plan for a new and resurgent India and aims to pave the way for transformational reforms in the country’s school and higher education systems, the chief minister added.

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