CSIR, KV join hands to inculcate scientific temper in students

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on Thursday announced the launch of a programme to enable KV students a hands-on experience of working in CSIR laboratories across the country.

The student-scientist connect programme, "Jigyasa", will inculcate a culture of inquisitiveness on the one hand and scientific temper on the other among school students and their teachers, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) -- the largest research and development organisation in India -- said in a statement here.

The programme will connect 1,151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 CSIR laboratories and benefit one lakh students and nearly 1,000 teachers annually.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar said that keeping in step with scientific development was crucial if the nation wanted to succeed.

Speaking on the occasion, Javadekar reasoned that "to inculcate scientific temper among the students we have to make them aware about the impact of science on the society."

"Science has played a very important role in changing our lives," he said.

The Minister also commented on the aptness of the name of the programme saying "'Jigyasa', which means curiosity, is the first step in the study of science".

The trait has been crucial in the progress of mankind since "it is our curiosity which differentiates us from other animals," he said.

Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, who was also present at the event, wished that such a programme existed when he himself was a schoolboy.

"While we were growing up, the brighter students knew of only two career options, that of a doctor and an engineer... But after having worked in the field of science and technology in last three years, I have realised that if such an option was available to me then, I would have opted for the career of a scientist," Harsh Vardhan said.

The HRD Minister said that he would be reviewing the progress of the initiative every six months.

-- IANS

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