SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Thursday announced that the Shillong Polytechnic would be upgraded to a new degree level engineering college beginning from this academic year, “piggy riding on the existing resources so that the institute can be turned to a centre of excellence for the young generation of aspiring professionals”.
He was addressing the closing ceremony of the year long Golden Jubilee celebration of the Institute in the presence of Home Minister Roshan Warjri, Mawlai legislator and an alumni of the Institute Embhahlang Syiemlieh, Principal Secretary, Education, P.K. Srivastava, Commissioner and Secretary, Education, D.P. Wahlang, Principal, Shillong Polytechnic W.L. Warjri, faculty members, local leaders and a large numbers students, past and present, here.
The chief minister also released the souvenir of the Institute that was brought out on the occasion.
Acknowledging the services rendered by the Institute to the students of the State in the past 50 years, the chief minister said it is now time to work harder and set a new benchmark higher than seen in the past to enable the young generation to realize their dreams as their dreams are higher than the past generations.
He said that the focus of the government was on creating a pool of skilled workforce of young professionals, adding that the government was re-strategizing its investment policy in this direction.
He also stressed the need for opening up more courses of study at higher secondary level to be able to the needs of the students as the State has been able to minimize dropout at the secondary level.
“We should not be taken unaware by the challenges if we have more and more students coming for higher studies,” he said.
The chief minister was all praise for the performances put up by the students on the occasion, saying that this was a positive story that the institute has given to the students, the alumni and the teachers. “Dare to dream big, on behalf of yourselves, on behalf of your communities, on behalf of the state and the country,” he told the young students, adding that their dreams should not be confined to their personal achievements, but also for the shared objectives of the State and its people.
Home Minister Roshan Warjri in her address highlighted the importance of the Institute with ever growing generations depending on technologies. Stating the employability factor largely depends on the development of skills, she said that the Polytechnic acts as a bridge for those who cannot have access to technologies and cannot afford to go to engineering colleges.
Although Shillong Polytechnic had made a humble beginning it has made giant leaps, she said, lauding the dedicated team of faculty for focusing on modern methods of practical learning.
Mawlai legislator Embhahlang Syiemlieh and Principal of the Institute, W. L. Warjri were among others who also spoke on the occasion.
The Shillong Polytechnic is a premier government technical institute in the State established in October, 1965.
Striving to keep abreast with the latest technological developments with an aim for capacity expansion, quality enhancement and overall improvement of the efficiency of the institution, Shillong Polytechnic offers three years Diploma courses in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering and two years post diploma course in Information Technology.
