Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, along with education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, felicitates a student during the Anundoram Barooah Award, 2011 at Sarusajai Sports Complex on Friday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, Sept. 23: Assam students who score 50 per cent marks and above in their matric examination will get free laptops from next year, with Dispur scaling down the required aggregate for the sop.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said in order to expand IT education and make more and more students computer savvy, his government would provide computers and laptops to students who secure a 50 per cent in the matric examinations from next year.

Till now, only students who scored 60 per cent and above in the examination were eligible for the reward.

The announcement was greeted with thunderous applause at the Anundoram Barooah Award 2011 ceremony here where laptops were distributed among the first division holders of matrix examination 2011.

Exhorting students not to be afraid of failure Gogoi said: “I even failed in the matric examination once. But that did not prove to be a disappointment for me in life. Have confidence in yourself to excel in life.”

If the new cut-off mark for the computer sop was encouraging for the matric examinees, education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had news for the higher education sector.

Dispur will launch a higher education mission to introduce reforms that would enable Assam’s students to compete more effectively with their counterparts across the country and abroad, Sarma said on the sidelines of the function.

Gogoi has already held a detailed discussion with the vice-chancellors of state universities about various components of the mission, he said.

The plan would be sponsored entirely by the state government since the Centre is already providing funds for improvement of college and university education through the UGC.

The next round of discussions will be held with the principals of all colleges in the state.

Budgetary allocation for the mission will be made in the next financial year.

“The state has already witnessed a sea change in its elementary education by implementing the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, the most recent initiative of the Centre to achieve the goal of quality universalisation of secondary education, is now being implemented in the state. So the state government has decided to launch a mission to bring about desired changes in education after the Class-XII level,” Sarma said.

He said the under the proposed mission, various new courses would be introduced that would enhance the employability of students.

Apart from improving the infrastructure and facilities of the existing universities and colleges, the mission would try to goad top bracket institutions to set up campuses in the state.

The government will establish an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Guwahati where more seats would be reserved for students of Assam, Sarma said.

S. Ramadorai, former chief of IT firm Tata Consultancy Services and an adviser to Prime Minister on skill development, would be the chairman of the governing body of the IIIT.