By Our Correspondent
CUTTACK: At one time, a stone embankment was built in Baimundi Woods to protect Cuttack from floodwaters. Even today, the people of Cuttack should take the lead in providing nutritious food to students to protect them from malnutrition and set an example in the country, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the city residents.
Attending the 175th annual prize distribution ceremony of Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack, Shri Pradhan said that in 2036, Odisha will complete 100 years of its formation as a separate province on the basis of the Odisha language. In 2047, the country will complete 100 years of independence. During this period, we have two responsibilities, one is education in the mother tongue and proper nutrition of the students. In Cuttack, where the city was saved from floods by building a stone embankment in the Baimundi forest, why can’t we, as a responsible society, take the responsibility of nurturing the students going to school? Not only the government, but also the society needs to fulfill its responsibility in this direction, he said.
Shri Pradhan said that I have many fond memories of Ravenshaw Collegiate School. This is not just an old high school for Odias but a pilgrimage site. Because this high school does not make people but makes leaders. This school has produced influential people like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das, who have enhanced the glory of our nation. While visiting this school on September 6, 2019, I got the opportunity to inaugurate the Netaji Science Laboratory and Library at a cost of about Rs 2 crore from the CSR Fund of HPCL, an oil public sector enterprise of the Government of India.
Shri Pradhan further said that after the Double Engine government came to power, it has brought a policy to make the heritage schools associated with Odia society a core. The government has announced that steps will be taken to regularize schematic primary teachers as per its recommendations along with the implementation of the National Education Policy-2020. Our government is committed to promoting primary education and ensuring that teachers live with respect. He said that students will not only get jobs but will also create their own new identity as employers.
On the occasion of ‘National Space Day’, he visited the ‘Science Fair’ organized in the premises of Ravenshaw Collegiate School, Cuttack and appreciated the equipment prepared and displayed by the students. On this occasion, Shri Pradhan felicitated the meritorious students and old students and congratulated them. He launched the website of the Old Students’ Parliament. The Union Minister was honored with the ‘Shiksha Jyoti Samman’ by the institution.
Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahatab, Dhenkanal MP Rudra Narayan Pani, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sophia Firdosh, and eminent Odissi vocalist Padma Shri Dr. Shyamamani Devi were prominent participants in the event.
