The specially-designed bus which will act like a mobile science laboratory. Telegraph picture

Jorhat, Oct. 15: For students in the rural areas of Jorhat and Kamrup (metro), who are unable to go to centres of science education, science will now come to them, on wheels.

A mobile science laboratory on a specially designed bus will be visiting schools to popularise science and also provide a chance to students of high and higher secondary classes to perform science practical tests.

The initiative is a collaborative pilot project of Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksa Abhijan (RMSA), Assam, Science Technology and Environmental Technology Council (ASTEC) and Unicef, called the Chief Minister’s Innovative Scheme.

The Jorhat Science Centre and Planetarium will implement the project in Jorhat district while in Kamrup (metro) it will be done by the Assam Science Society.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had formally inaugurated the project on August 15 this year at Khanapara playground (Guwahati) and the two buses were handed over to the respective district administrations. The first visit of the bus will be to the Jorhat Government Girls’ Multipurpose Higher Secondary School on Monday.

Inspector of schools (Jorhat), Hiren Gogoi, who is the RMSA district programme coordinator, told reporters today that the aim of the initiative is to provide students the opportunity to know interesting scientific facts and phenomenon and the latest happenings in the field of science.

He said that students would be allowed to carry out experiments on their own. The inspector said a routine would be prepared, blockwise, for touring the schools and priority accorded to those schools whose science laboratories lack adequate facilities.

There are 246 higher and higher secondary provincialised schools and two government schools in Jorhat district. Gogoi said a single visit by the bus could be used to cover a cluster of schools if several of them were located within a short radius.

The special vehicle has the facility to transport scientific tools, instruments, chemicals needed to perform experiments without causing any damage, he added. These tools would be installed in the schools.

The RMSA district programme manager said two persons have been appointed as vehicle attendants, who will drive the vehicle, handle the equipment and maintain cleanliness and hygiene.

Curator of Jorhat Science Centre and Planetarium, Pranabjyoti Chetia, said RMSA has given an outline of scientific topics under physics, chemistry and biology categories to the centre, on which the demonstrations will be given in the schools.

Chetia said on the basis of the materials provided to them, a programme has been prepared and 30 science teachers from different school have been selected as resource persons. The selected teachers have been provided a three-day training and on each visit, three such teachers will be deputed.