Skip to content Skip to navigation

IITG fraternity's steps towards societal development

An education institute is a place for nurturing the future of a society. Being one of the prominent institutes of the nation, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) has been working towards this goal in several ways.

The students of IITG have been involved in various efforts like zero illiteracy zone campaign,distribution of used clothes,blood donation camps, visit to orphanages in Guwahati city , popularization of Gandhian philosophy,efforts towards e-governance ,mentoring of students from Kendiya Vidyalaya (KV), IIT Guwahati etc. to contribute towards the societal development of the nation in general and of the region in particular.

"The zero illiteracy campaign was started in July 2008 wherein the security guards of the institute and small children from nearby village were taught.
The guards were taught spoken and written English. The school children were taught almost all the subjects in their curricula," said Ashish Kakran, General Secretary Students Welfare, IIT Guwahati.

There were around 150 kids from nearby villages Katinga Pahad, Reserve, Muriyapatti, Chinarpatti, Lathiya Bagicha, Amingaon AIDC etc. from class 1-10.

Starting from this year, the mess workers of IITG Hostel are being taught English and general awareness.

From August 2007, the students collected old clothes from the campus and distributed to the needy in Guwahati city as a regular event .

Kakran told,"The first blood donation camp was organized in IITG campus on 1st and 2nd of April 2007. This was a grand success where around 200 units of blood were collected. Since then it has become a regular event at IITG. Its planned to make it a bi-semester regular event. The next blood donation camp was organized on 29th of March 2009, in collaboration with Guwahati Medical College (GMC). It was a 1-day camp where 102 units of blood were donated".

"The students of IITG take frequent visits to some of the local orphanages. This interaction has proved to be beneficial to both parties. The inmates of the orphanages always enjoy the presence of our students and we in turn learn a lot about human emotions and values from these kids," he told.

The National Service Scheme ( NSS ) volunteers have started a web page to make the ideas of Mahatma popular among the current generation of youtha. They also plan to have regular discussions and brain storming sessions on different implications of Gandhian philosophy and Gandhian economy.

According to him, there have come many policies both at central and state level, which encourage the use of internet for better governance. The inclusion of right to information in the list of fundamental rights, is one such step. IITG is trying to build up database and information-base, which can be accessed to use these new initiatives from government in a better way.

He also told, "Mentoring of local school students by university scholars. Its a common trend in foreign universities. Following the same idea, from January 2009, class IX and XI students of Kendiya Vidyalaya of IIT Guwahati are being mentored by IITG students. This gives the KV students a scope to learn more about both curricular and extra-curricular activities. This also gives them a scope to have a more informative career decision".

The students involved in these programs are the NSS volunteers and the Group coordinators are Mr. Harpreet Singh (Spoken English for Security Personnel),Mr. Mayur Agarwal (Classes for Village Students), Rishab Parasar (Classes for Mess-workers),Mr. Tarun Chubisa (E-governance and IT), Atul Sancheti (Popularization of Gandhian Ideals), Ashish Thakur (KV Students' Mentoring).


- Buljit Burgohain, IITG

Comments

Sushanta Kar's picture

A really good job your people are doing Buljeet. The ACTA also taken up same extension activities in all most all the colleges, but with little success. Most of the elite college teachers think why should on the earth they should do such a useless (!!!) job, they only need money to buy car and flats. Anyway, have you visited our site recently? I'm sending you the Hard copy. Sushanta Kar

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Assam Association Delhi invites you to celebrate Rongali Bihu in a grand fashion: 17th April: 6 30 PM onwards North East Festival at IGNCA, 9, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi 110001 Program: Sattriya, NE states dance, music, Bihu etc. 18th April: 6 30 PM onwards Rongali Bihu Festival at IGNCA, 9, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi 110001 Program: Release of 'samayik', Chorus, Huchori, Childrens' Bihu, Bihukunwori/Bihuwa dance, Mishing Bihu, Dewri Bihu, Main Bihu, Mukoli Bihu, Performance ny Guest Artist: Krishnamoni Nath.
A two day training programme on preparation of ethnic Assamese snacks and delicacies was inaugurated on 10 April, 2010 by Prateek Hajela, DC , Kaup (Metro) at Handique Girls College. The programme was jointly organized by North East Girl Students Association and North East Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) in collaboration with Girl Empowerment ion and Career Guidance and Training Cell of Handique Girls College. The programme was organized with the objective of acquainting the young girls about the various unique technique and skill of preparing various types of ethnic Assamese delicacies including pithas, laddus, baked items etc. About 100 participants from 34 different...
National award winning Youth Assamese Journalist Amarjyoti Borah has been selected for the Wolfson Press Fellowship offered by Cambridge University, United Kingdom. The three month fellowship will start from April 19 and during the course of the fellowship the fellows will research on their selected subject areas. Amarjyoti has already made a mark in the field of Environment Reporting. In 2007 he was adjudged the “Youth Environmental Journalist (print) of the Year” by the Forum of Environment Journalists at New Delhi. Again in 2008 he was among 15 Journalists from Asia, Europe and Africa who were selected for a scholarship to attend a two months advanced training on...
Chord of Harmony: The Sattras & Dargahs of Assam, like the subjects themselves, is actually a reflection of the philosophy of humanism and universal brotherhood propagated by the great saints of Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva and Azaan Pir—a philosophy nurtured and carried forward by the later apostles and followers of both the saints. The Sankardeva movement, spearheaded by the Vaishnavite monasteries called the sattras, not only watered down the system of discrimination on the basis of caste, but also strived to save the society from practices of religious bigotry and untouchability by creating a system of harmonious co-existence. If the sattras remind people of Sankardeva’s...
Two NDEB (CF) cadres apprehended by Army near Khoirabari. One 7.62 mm pistol and four rounds recovered.
The oldest magazine of Assam, ‘Bijnan Jeuti’ has completed 44 years successfully during this month. This is a popular Assamese science bi-monthly magazine, published by the Assam Science Society. Noted science writer Mowsam Hazarika presently act as an honorary Editor of the magazine.
North East Center for Sustainable Development (NECSD), an organisation committed for the welfare of the people in the region organised one day programme titled as’ Mentoring for Entrepreneurship’. The programme was organised a Batakuchi Janajatiya Sangha near Rihabari in Chaygaon area under Rabha Hasong Council area on 2nd April.. The programme was organised for the woman in the area to impart some training and initial idea on entrepreneurship development. The resource person in the programme were Indrani Tahbildar and Seema Devi from NECSD. They spoke on importance of woman entrepreneurship. Ranjan K Baruah, a social activist spoke on how woman can take part in transforming...
The Gauhati High Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail for KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi who has been implicated in a number of cases. The order of respite was issued as the court was hearing is petition a few days after Dhemaji district administration lodged an FIR against him alleging his role in the recent clash.
One person died when a powerful IED exploded in Nagaon district of Assam on Saturday. According to information, the explosion took place as Fagu Bhumij, the victim was trying to open an abandoned packet. The packet was picked up by a minor boy as he came to see it lying at the Kondoli firing range. He handed it over to Bhumij who was trying to open it when it exploded with a huge sound. Fagu died on the spot.
Manipur tops the unrest state at the height of insurgency till date. Assam stands next to Manipur in terms of insurgency. According to a report by union home ministry, the two north eastern state has witnessed 150 incidents of violence in last three months, claiming 100 lives. The report reads: 77 extremists, 20 civilians and three security force personnel have been killed during this period. It further has it that altogether, 105 people were killed in six Northeastern states -- Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh -- till last month in 174 incidents. Mizoram had no major insurgency and was comparatively a peaceful state. In 2009, 435 people, including 81...