Centre to promote science education among students: Kapil Sibal

Bangalore, Sep 23 (UNI) The Union Department of Science and Technology had worked out an ambitious plan to take science to one million children across the country in the next five years, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal informed today.

Addressing newspersons after dedicating a Nano Lab, the first of its kind in the country at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research here, he said the department planned to popularise science in a big way and attract the best brains towards it.

Mr Sibal said initially the top 45,000 to 50,000 students, constituting one per cent of students in tenth standard in the country, would be selected in the age group of 10-17 to facilitate them to participate in the Global Summer Camp, which would be addressed by top scientists and Nobel laureates. Reputed scientific institutions and organisations would also be roped in for this initiative. The best among these student groups would be provided a scholarship of Rs 5,000 as an incentive, he added.

He said that in another such innovative programme, the DST proposed to support 12th standard students willing to pursue education in science and involve in research activities, by bearing all educational expenses for the next 15 years and paying an incentive of an Assistant Professor scale for the next five years.

Mr Sibal said the Ministry had sought four-fold increase in the eleventh five-year plan from Rs 25,000 crore for the development of Science and Technology and spending in space and atomic science.

The department, in collaboration with the National Geographic Channel, was launching scientific programmes to commemorate the silver jubilee of the Centre for Scientific Institute and Research (CSIR) and attract more number of children to science, he said.

The Minister said there were plans to set up five more institutes on the lines of the Indian Institute of Science here and the work had begun in Pune and Kolkata.

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