Guwahati, Feb 3 Underlining the rapid pace of change in society and the emergence of new ideas, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that technological advances such as mobile communication have transformed global thinking and daily life.
The Chief Minister observed that projects once considered unimaginable, including multiple universities and a medical college in Lakhimpur, a university at Gohpur and the under-river tunnel connecting Numaligarh and Gohpur, have now become realities.
Stating that the establishment of new universities aims to usher in an academic renaissance in Assam, Sarma urged higher educational institutions to prioritise innovation. He stressed the need for universities to build startup ecosystems and align students with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, adding that Assam’s youth must think ahead and contribute meaningfully to the world of the future.
Sarma, during a day-long visit to Lakhimpur district on Tuesday, inaugurated the new campus of Madhabdev University at Narayanpur.
Describing the inauguration of the new campus as a key milestone in the university’s growth journey, the Chief Minister said the campus, constructed over 55 bighas of land at a cost of about Rs 57 crore, comprises four-storeyed academic blocks, residential quarters for the Vice Chancellor, Registrar and faculty members, a two-storeyed guest house, a main entrance gate, internal roads and drains.
He expressed confidence that the new infrastructure would significantly strengthen the university’s academic ecosystem. Sarma observed that the long-term development of a state university into a centre of excellence requires at least 300 bighas of land.
Accordingly, he advised the District Commissioner to take steps to expand the existing 120-bigha campus by acquiring an additional 180 bighas. He also announced a grant of Rs 75 crore for the second phase of the infrastructure development of Madhabdev University.
Recalling his first budget as Finance Minister in 2016, Dr Sarma said the upgradation of Hojai College into Rabindranath Thakur University, Bajali College into Bhattadev University and Madhabdev College into Madhabdev University was announced at a time when the establishment of universities beyond Gauhati and Dibrugarh was scarcely imagined.
He noted that, driven by the state government’s sustained focus on education, work on 25 universities has since been taken up, with academic programmes already underway in many institutions.
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