Assam Governor Lt Gen. ( retd) Ajai Singh inaugurates the All Assam Inter School Creative Dance and Kids Fashion Show competition at National Public School at Saruhozai in Guwahati on October 14. Picture by Eastern Projections

Rights seminar

A two-day UGC-sponsored national seminar on Human Rights and Values in Education was held at Tezpur University on October 19 and 20. The seminar was jointly organised by the departments of cultural studies, English and foreign languages. Dolan Konwer, vice-chancellor of Tezpur University, inaugurated the seminar on October 19. He spoke on the importance of imparting education on human rights in schools and colleges.

Sarat Mahanta, a member of the Assam Human Rights Commission, attended the function as guest of honour and delivered a lecture on the origin and development of the concept of human rights and its present position in society. He also resented the erosion of human values over the years.

Niru Hazarika, ex-dean of arts, Gauhati University, delivered the keynote address and spoke on the topic in detail. Sunil Kumar Dutta, dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences and head of the department of Cultural Studies, Tezpur University, welcomed the participants and guests. Madan Mohan Sarma, head of the department of English and foreign languages, delineated the rationale behind the seminar.

On October 20, three academic sessions were held where a score of papers on various topics covering the main theme, Human Rights and Values in Education, were presented.

Nani Gopal Mahanta, Subhram Rajkhowa and Dipak Mahanta of Gauhati University; Shyamanta M. Hazarika, Subhrangshu Sekhar Sarkar, K. Kikhi, Uttam Pegu and Nagaraju Ankesrapu of Tezpur University; Rubul Patgiri and B. Roychoudhury of Dibrugarh University; S. K. Prasad from Tura in Meghalaya, as well as research scholars and college lecturers from different parts of Assam took part in the seminar and presented papers that evoked a lively discussion among the participants.

Robert Carling, a Fulbright fellow and visiting lecturer, highlighted the background of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

During the two-day deliberation, new findings were presented and deep insight was thrown on the subject of human rights and its present situation in society.

The seminar was successful with the students and other members of the university community taking active part in the discussions.

Parliament

Kendriya Vidyalaya Air Force station, Tezpur, conducted a regional-level Youth Parliament recently. Four other Kendriya Vidyalayas participated in this seminar — Kendriya Vidyalaya Itanagar, Narengi, Lokra and Kendriya Vidyalaya (number 1), Tezpur.

The programme started with ex-parliamentarian Swarup Kumar Upadhyay form Tezpur lighting the ceremonial lamp. In his speech, he asked the students to take an interest in this democratic process, as they are the future leaders of the nation.

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya Air Force Station, Tezpur, presented a short cultural programme comprising a welcome song, a Bihu dance and the national song, Vande Mataram. Education officer of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan R.T. Borkar delivered the presidential address while Mani Ram, principal of the school, welcomed the dignitaries.

K.K. Baruah of College of Veterinary Sciences presents a paper at the AAAP Animal Science Congress in Busan. A Telegraph picture

Scholarship

Three faculty members of the College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara, were awarded international scholarships by the 12th Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies’ Animal Science Congress.

The Congress was held at Busan in South Korea recently. The three members are Kishore Kumar Baruah, Anubha Baruah, associate professors in the department of Veterinary Physiology and B.N. Bhattacharya, deputy director of Research College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara. The theme of the Congress was Challenges of Animal for the Wellbeing of Mankind. They also presented their research papers at the meet.

Scientific talk

Shristhi — the science club of Maria’s Public School at Birkuchi organised a seminar on Our Sensory Organs and Their Enhancement and Genetics for the students of Classes VIII to X recently. Physicist Amarjyoti Chowdhury and scholar Sashi Barua, professor of biology at Tezpur University, graced the occasion.

Chowdhury kept the audience spellbound by his talk on nanotechnology and laser. Students of Class X also made presentations.The school also hosted an inter-school quiz competition in two categories — Group A (for Classes VII and VIII) and Group B (for Classes IX and X). Army School, Narengi, won the first prize in both the categories.

In Group A, the second prize was won by Faculty School, Amingaon, while Maria’s Public School bagged the third prize.

In Group B, Maria’s Public School came second while Faculty School, Amingaon, was placed third.

Biodiversity

A talk on Biodiversity Values and the Pattern of Threats due to Environmental Stress was delivered recently by P.C. Bhattacharjee of the zoology department, Gauhati University. The talk was jointly organised by the Zoological Society of Assam and department of Zoology, Gauhati University

Bhattacharjee emphasised the significance of plants as important habitat components for the conservation of wild animals. The meeting was presided over by D.K. Sharma, head of the department of zoology. A. Borkotoki, president, Zoological Society of Assam, narrated the background and the objective of the discussion, which was attended by many interested students and faculty members.

Lecture

The first Anita Baruah Sarmah Memorial Lecture will be delivered by eminent former professor of Dibrugarh University, department of English, Kabin Phukan on Yeats and the Mystery of Words and Poetic Speech on October 31 at the department of English, Gauhati University.

The Anita Baruah Sarmah College of Education is sponsoring the lecture. Anita Baruah Sarmah, former teacher of the department of English, Gauhati University, passed away on April 27 last year. It will be a public lecture, open to all those who are interested in the topic. The department has especially invited Anita Baruah Sarmah’s friends, colleagues, acquaintances and former students to be present.

Kabin Phukan is a well-known poet, translator, academician and critic, and has recently retired as professor of English, Dibrugarh University. He obtained his degrees from St Edmunds College, Shillong, and completed his PhD from Leeds University, England. He was a Fulbright scholar at Yale in 1983-84 and worked on Ezra Pound.

A staff reporter