SAS Nagar, February 28: Punjab Education and Information and Public Relations Minister Harjot Singh Bains has called upon Punjab government school students to focus on science subjects and take admission in the country's premier institutes like IISER, IIT and IIM.
While inaugurating the two-day Science Utsav Tatva at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, Education Minister Bains, citing the examples of famous Indian and international scientists and researchers Sir C V Raman, J C Bose, Isaac Newton and Copernicus, inspired the students of class 10+1 science of government schools of Punjab, who were watching the Science Utsav, to become future scientists and inventors by following these great personalities.
He said that we should observe every object around us and the science related to these events. This will create an attraction towards learning science. Referring to the transformation of mankind from the era of invention of wheel and fire to the era of mobile phones, invention of high speed trains, airplanes, advancement in medical science and now the transformation of ChatGPT and other AI tools, the Education Minister said that all this has been possible due to the curiosity to know the reason behind each event and the strong desire to move ahead to invent something unique and new.
He said that we should make these scientists our role model and make books in libraries our friends so that we can achieve our life goals in the field that paves the way for serving the nation. He gave the example of former President Late Abdul Kalam who despite hardships in his life followed the path of education and attained the highest position.
He said that nowadays students of government schools have been provided with great facilities in terms of infrastructure and excellence in education, hence they should compete for premier institutes like IITs, IIMs and IISERs to become the future scientists of the nation.
Assuring full support of Punjab Government to Dr Anil Kumar Tripathi, Director IISER Mohali, he urged him to consider setting up Institute Extension/Outreach Campus of IISER in rural areas of Punjab to motivate rural students to learn science. He said that the Government may consider providing site for such extension of IISER.
Earlier, welcoming the Education Minister as the first Education Minister of the State to visit the campus, Director IISER Dr Anil Kumar Tripathi said that 28th February is celebrated as National Science Day to commemorate the anniversary of the groundbreaking discovery of ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir C.V. Raman in 1928. This discovery won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, making him the first Indian to win a Nobel in Science.
He thanked the Education Minister and assured to serve the State by considering his proposal positively. The Education Minister also released a science magazine on the occasion in the presence of Dr Anjan Ray, former Director, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, Dr Jagdeep Singh, Registrar, IISERR, Dr Amit, Dean Outreach and International Relations