Nov. 6: IAS aspirants in the city will no longer need to travel to Delhi or elsewhere to prepare for the civil service examinations.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today inaugurated the first institute at Hatigaon, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Coaching Centre (FACC), which will offer special classes to the IAS aspirants, particularly from the minority communities.

Appreciating the Education Research and Development Foundation for setting up the coaching centre, Gogoi said the state had enough talents to crack the tough civil service examinations.

The chairperson of the foundation, Mohbubul Hoque, told The Telegraph that though the coaching centre would admit all students irrespective of caste, community and religion who aspire to become civil servants, the institute would give priority to talented students from the minority communities who cannot even think of appearing in the civil service examinations as they are economically underprivileged.

“The foundation will select about 20 meritorious students, mainly from the minority communities, every year and impart special coaching free of cost to help them clear the civil service examinations,” Hoque said.

He said Shah Faisal, who topped the UPSC examination in 2009, would be associated with the coaching centre to provide guidance and impart training.

Faisal, who comes from a village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and whose father was killed by militants, cleared the civil services examination in his first attempt.

“Faisal’s story will be an inspiration for the youths of the state. We hope that the centre, headed by former chief secretary H.N. Das, would be able to produce many civil servants in the days to come,” Hoque said.

Besides trainings for union civil service examinations, the coaching centre will also focus on the Assam civil service examinations.

Hailing Hoque as a visionary educational entrepreneur, Gogoi, however, said civil service officials alone could not take the entire load of developing the state.

“Every other citizen of the state must also be educated well and besides education, they should be concerned about the environment and possess human values. The ERD Foundation will be a shot in the arm for the state which is exploring all avenues for skill development of its youth,” the chief minister said.

Prem Saran, retired IAS officer and now vice-chancellor, University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya,under ERD Foundation, said, “Very few candidates from Assam sit for the IAS examination and therefore very few qualify.”

Saran hoped that the number would go up substantially in the coming years.