With a mission for the development of its neighborhood and the people, the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, on Saturday held a meeting with the headmen of different villages as well as principals of the schools in the Baridua area under Ri-Bhoi district.
The University also announced a co-curricular festival for the children and others to promote education and entrepreneurship among the people.
Named as the ‘USTM Neighborhood Mission Festival’, it will take place in the month of December.
“By the next five years, all the villages surrounding USTM must be transformed into ideal villages. We put most emphasis on education and ensure to provide all support so that students from these villages can avail higher education”, said M Hoque, Chancellor of USTM.
Also termed as ‘knowledge festival’, the USTM Neighborhood Mission Festival will be held at different parts of the Baridua area to attract children and youth for education and business ideas.
Hoque said that the University is also ready to offer other needed facilities to the economically downtrodden families. “Our aim is overall development of the villages near our University, and for that we are even ready to provide free education and all possible entrepreneurial facilities,” he added.
The representatives from the villages of the area put forward the problems they have been facing and also suggested some possible solutions to them.
They said that school dropout has been a major problem and this is happening due to many factors like poverty, lure for easy money, etc. The meeting decided to work for development of education in the schools and USTM promised to assist teachers in teaching and training of teachers as well as offered small funds to widows and needy women in the area to start up with poultry, cattle rearing, etc.
The Chancellor of USTM also scheduled visits to several villages and schools in the next few weeks.