Paryatan (tourism), parampara (traditions), pradyogik (technology), pragati (development) and paraspar sampark (people-to-people connect) — These are the five broad categories under which students from the eight North-Eastern states will be exposed to the region, culture, cuisine and campuses of other states as part of a pilot tour initiated by the Centre to bridge the gap between N-E and the rest of the country.
The student exchange programme, titled ‘Yuva Sangam’, will have 11 higher education institutions from the eight N-E states paired with 14 other states for week-long tours over a month’s time. The first such tour between IIIT-Manipur and IIIT-Nagpur kick-started from February 20. The pilot programme is likely to go on till mid-March, said officials.
The N-E connect programme comes at a time when assembly polls are scheduled in two states from the region —- Nagaland and Meghalaya — which will go to polls on February 27. Results to these elections as well as the one held in Tripura earlier this month will be announced together on March 2.
“Overall under the programme, there are 22 states, 25 educational institutions and over a 1,000 students who will be participating. Student groups of 30-40 from N-E states have been formed through an objective selection criterion from a large number of applicants. This is a diverse group in terms of gender, region, urban and rural as well as academic disciplines. The idea is that even the remotest part of a state and all disciplines such as law, engineering, medical, pharma and humanities, among others are represented,” said a senior official, who didn’t wish to be named.
The tour has been devised under five broad categories of learning in such a way that students are exposed to the different cultural aspects and practices of either state, the official added.
According to officials, the institutions that have been paired for the exchange include — IIT Jammu-IIT Guwahati, BBAU Lucknow-NEHU Shillong, Central University of Punjab-Manipur University, Central University Rajasthan-NERIST Arunachal Pradesh, JNU Delhi-NIT Silchar, IIT Gandhinagar-IIT Guwahati, IIT Madras-NIT Tripura, IIT Indore-NIT Manipur, IIT Tirupati-NIT Arunachal, NIT Rourkela-NIT Sikkim, IIM Bangalore-IIT Guwahati, IIM Rohtak-NIT Mizoram, NITTTR Chandigarh-NIT Silchar.
Much on the lines of the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam festival held last December, which was intended to bridge the North-South divide, ‘Yuva Sangam’ is being organised under the aegis of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’ scheme announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 to bridge cultural gaps between states. The Union ministry of education is the coordinating agency for the scheme.
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