Latest news with #RanojPegu
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pegu backs plan to re-engage retired teachers in colleges
1 2 Guwahati: Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu on Monday backed the re-engagement of retired teachers in govt model colleges amid opposition from educated youths and aspiring candidates. Pegu said young and retired faculty members teaching together will help in better management and educational outcomes in the newly built model colleges, where classes are going to start from August, after summer break. He added that some of the new model colleges in the state could not perform up to the mark due to the appointment of mostly new and inexperienced young teachers. "We have started several new colleges and also conducted research on the problems these colleges are facing. Most of the new colleges have not been able to pick up on expected lines. During analysis, we found that this happened because we engaged totally new faculty members and bestowed the responsibility of college management on those who just passed out of university," Pegu said. Thus, he stated that in the new model colleges, there will be a combination of new and experienced teachers. Pegu backed the decision to intake 50% of faculty from retired teachers, while the remaining from young candidates saying, "The service of retired teachers will be allowed till 65 years of age. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo After retiring from their previous job, if they join the model colleges one or two years later, these faculty members will be able to serve for three or four years." "These three to four years of engagement will be crucial as the model colleges are in a nascent stage," he added. Pegu hoped that with their vast experience in teaching, managing departments and internal quality, and ensuring the implementation of UGC guidelines and earning NAAC accreditation, the experienced teachers will lead the new colleges. Pugu said govt may consider implementing the same policy in engineering colleges if the model of re-engaging retired faculty members is successful in model colleges. However, this has raised concerns among young candidates. "In a situation where thousands of educated unemployed people remain jobless, the decision to pay retired teachers Rs 1 lakh monthly remuneration, over and above the pensions they already receive, is neglecting merit and mocking the plight of unemployed youth," All Assam Students' Union president Utpal Sarma.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Dhemaji focuses on ease of doing biz to boost industrial growth
Dibrugarh: A one-day zonal workshop on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) was organised in Dhemaji on Wednesday by the District Industries & Commerce Centre (DICC) in collaboration with DICCs from Majuli, Dibrugarh, and Tinsukia districts. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The event aimed to address local business challenges and streamline processes to boost industrial development across the region. The workshop was inaugurated by state education minister Ranoj Pegu, with Dhemaji DC Rahul Suresh Javir and officials from the four districts in attendance. The workshop featured an engaging interactive session, where pioneering entrepreneurs shared their entrepreneurial journeys, providing motivation and practical guidance to attendees. The success stories served as inspiration for aspiring business owners and highlighted the potential for growth within the region.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
GU looks to integrate northeastern languages into digital ecosystems
Guwahati: Regional languages of the northeast are all set to get integrated into a modern digital ecosystems at Gauhati University. The initiative aims to enable computers to process and understand these languages through parts of speech (PoS) tagging that involves assigning grammatical labels, such as nouns, verbs, or adjectives to words. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now To make these regional languages suitable for digital processing, the university's Information Technology (IT) department collaborated with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). A three-day-long national workshop on PoS tagsets for northeastern languages, organised by the IT department in collaboration with the university's Centre for Research and Development in Digital and Endangered Local Languages (CRD-DELL), was inaugurated on Thursday by state eductaion minister Ranoj Pegu. "From counting on fingers to digitalising everything, we've moved from ancient practices to a digital era, embracing AI and technology for a transformative future," Pegu said at the event. "We're proud to organise this workshop, which will help preserve and promote our region's rich languages through technology, ensuring they thrive in the digital age," Vice chancellor Nani Gopal Mahanta said. "This workshop marks the culmination of a nationally significant effort for northeastern languages and seeks to finalise PoS tagsets, which are basically sets of grammatical categories for 12 languages of the region — Assamese, Bodo, Manipuri, Khasi, Garo, Mizo, Rabha, Karbi and others — thus ensuring their proper representation in AI, the digital world, and Natural Language Processing frameworks," said Shikhar Kumar Sarma, dean of the university's faculty of technology. According to Sarma, the main objective is to make these languages more suitable for digital processing as they have unique grammatical characteristics. This PoS tagging process can help develop efficient multilingual software, digital archives and chatbots, using northeastern languages.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
School timings advanced to ensure students' safety
1 2 Guwahati: State education department has advanced school timings to 7:30 am with effect from Wednesday in response to rising summer heat. Education authorities in multiple districts issued revisions, setting school hours from 7:30 am to 12 pm for elementary schools (comprising lower primary and upper primary), and from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm for senior secondary schools (comprising high schools and higher secondary schools). In some districts, primary classes will end by 11:30 am, upper primary by 12 pm, while senior classes will continue till 12:30 pm. Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup, Dhubri, Morigaon and Charaideo are among the districts that promptly declared the revised schedule. The new school timings were announced soon after state education minister Ranoj Pegu on Tuesday morning urged district commissioners to change school hours due to the scorching summer heat in the state. Maximum temperatures soared 5 degrees Celsius beyond normal range in several locations in Assam in last couple of days. Pegu posted on X, "In view of the heat wave alert issued by the Met department, all District Commissioners are requested to remain vigilant and exercise their delegated authority to reschedule school hours as per local weather conditions." In Kamrup (Metro) district, under which Guwahati city falls, LP schools (class 1 to 5) will conduct classes from 7:30 am to 11:30 am. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Middle schools (class 6 to 8) are scheduled from 7:30 am to 12 pm. High schools and higher secondary schools have been instructed to hold classes between 7:30 am and 12:30 pm. This order by the education authorities of Kamrup (Metro) takes immediate effect and will remain so until Monday. The order issued by the inspector of schools cum district elementary education officer, Kamrup (Metro), read, "As per the instruction received from Kamrup metro DC, in the interest of public wellbeing, the normal school timing is again rescheduled due to continuous rise of mercury level and prevailing scorching heat for both govt provincialised and private schools under Kamrup Metro district w.e.f Wednesday, 11th June '2025. " All city schools have been instructed to conduct their morning assembly indoors or in shaded areas, prohibiting outdoor activities. The order also said, "Schools should ensure that students drink sufficient water for which three / four water bells must be rang during the school hours and enough drinking water facility should be provided inside the school premises. Schools should ensure that all fans are functional and all classrooms are properly ventilated. " However, most students appreciated the order. "Currently, the scorching summer heat has turned life difficult for us. In such times, we are glad that the school schedule has been moved forward," said Khyatikamal Kalita, a Class 6 student of Assam Jatiya Bidyalay, Noonmati.
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Cave-dwelling fish that can survive on surface found in Meghalaya
A team of zoologists from Gauhati University, Lady Keane College in Shillong, and the ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in Lucknow discovered Schistura densiclava — a new species of fish that thrives underground but can adapt to surface conditions as well — in Krem Mawjingbuiñ, a cave in Meghalaya. The limestone cave is located just 15 kilometres from Mawsynram, one of the wettest places on earth. Most hypogean (underground-dwelling) species lose their eyesight and pigmentation over generations, relying on heightened non-visual senses to navigate pitch-dark waters. Unlike them, this unique species of stone loach has eyes and shows off its colours too. Published in the Journal of Fish Biology, a prestigious journal by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, the discovery has drawn international attention and national applause. Assam's education minister Ranoj Pegu took to social media platform X to congratulate the team, calling it 'a proud moment for Northeast India's scientific community.' With a pale yellow-green body and bold black bars numbering between 14 and 20, the fish sports a distinctive thick stripe near its dorsal fin — the very feature that earned it the species name densiclava, meaning 'dense stripe' in Latin. 'This discovery highlights the untapped biodiversity thriving in Meghalaya's underground ecosystems. It's the ninth new fish species we've described from Northeast India, and the sixth known cave-associated fish from Meghalaya' said Professor Dandadhar Sarma, head of Zoology department at Gauhati University. Unlike fully cave-adapted species such as Schistura papulifera and Neolissochilus pnar — which are pigmentless, blind, and cannot survive in a surface environment— Schistura densiclava thrives inside caves but isn't entirely dependent on subterranean life. Researchers said that the fish was found exclusively in a cool, fast-flowing stream some 60 metres inside the cave, where water temperatures hover at a chilly 18°C and oxygen levels are low. The fish's resilience in such nutrient-scarce conditions is remarkable. Its diet includes copepods, tiny shrimp, insect fragments, and even bat guano. According to Kangkan Sarma, one of the study's lead authors, the species shows clear sexual dimorphism. 'Males are slimmer with irregular patterns and puffier cheeks, while females are more robust and display more uniform markings,' he noted, adding, 'DNA sequencing confirms that this is a genetically distinct species, unlike any other Schistura found in the region.' The East Khasi Hills region, where Krem Mawjingbuiñ lies, is a part of Meghalaya's celebrated cave systems — one of the richest and least explored subterranean landscapes in the world. With over 1,700 caves and cave locations documented, but only a fraction thoroughly studied, Meghalaya is considered a global hotspot for cave biodiversity. 'There were no visible signs of human disturbance inside Krem Mawjingbuiñ,' said one researcher, noting how seasonal access and the surrounding dense forest have kept the cave largely untouched by tourism or ecological isolation, researchers said, is a double-edged sword — protecting species for now, but making them vulnerable to even minor intrusions.
