Jamshedpur: A two-member team from the Consulate-General of Japan in Calcutta was in the city on Tuesday to interact with students and promote higher education opportunities in the island nation.
The team led by Manami Kato, vice consul (cultural affairs), and media officer (cultural section) Supratik Sil Roy held a daylong interaction at Hill Top School in Telco, the first such session by the consulate in any cradle in the city.
Calligraphy teacher from Japan Hiroko Nagahama was also an invitee.
"We informed students about our culture, nature, geography, housing, food and clothing and higher education opportunities in Japan. A student availing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Scholarship will get free tuition, monthly stipend and free return ticket," said Kato, who gave a 30-minute power-point presentation at the school auditorium.
MEXT Scholarships are available for Indian students to pursue research and undergraduate programmes in Japan. "We have had international exchanges with the Chinese consulate and the British embassy in the last few years and students and faculties had benefited immensely. We are looking for similar programmes with Japan. I have invited them to visit the city frequently to inform our students about educational opportunities there," said Hill Top School principal Puneeta B. Chouhan.
Hill Top was among a few handpicked schools which had exchanges with UK schools through the British Council and had signed a three-year pact with the Chinese consulate for the exchange of faculties.
Roy said they were looking forward for more such interactions. "We are extremely happy at the tremendous excitement among students. We are looking forward to more such interactions. In fact, the number of candidates for MEXT Scholarship is increasing in the eastern states with 30 students being selected last year," said Roy.
Incidentally, the Japanese consulate general had held similar sessions in a few Ranchi schools last year evoking good response. "We visited a few schools in Ranchi last year and the response was encouraging. We hope for more such opportunities in Jamshedpur schools," added Roy.
