Road to the right career

Writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami inaugurates Eduquest

Guwahati, May 25 : If organic chemistry and Shakespeare’s plays pull you equally and you don’t know whether the lab or proscenium should be your destination, eastern India’s largest education fair, Eduquest, promises to help you find the crucial answer. Organised by The Telegraph and Saraswationline.com, the two-day fair was inaugurated by writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami at the Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium here this morning. An educationist herself, Goswami knows how important it is for youngsters to select the right career. No wonder, she was as excited as a youngster. Open from 10am to 8pm, Eduquest has brought together 75 participants from various parts of the country and abroad for the benefit of students seeking admission to colleges and universities. “This is all so exciting. I think this is a great place to be for all students. What could be better than having so many educational institutions under one roof, ready to disseminate all sorts of information to anyone who is interested?” the Gnanpeeth award-winning writer said. Goswami, in fact, went round the venue and the stalls, speaking to the officials, asking polite queries on their ways of the functioning. She picked up brochures at the stalls, leafing through them with the interest of a student. She said in a nostalgic tone: “In our days, there was so few colleges and educational universities. More educational institutions means more opportunity for the students.” It was a touching moment when one of the girls at the counter of an aviation academy genuflected before Goswami and touched her feet, seeking the blessings of the writer. As the day progressed, the footfall increased and the holiday provided the perfect opportunity for the youngsters to make a beeline to the fair. “Visiting Eduquest was a great experience for me as there are so many institutions under a single roof offering aviation and management courses,” said Jatarupa Sarma of Gurukul Grammar School. Another student, Anamika Rahang, said the fair was a “very good idea because it provides all the necessary information that students require about higher education and also helps them make an appropriate choice”. Rahang, who is a student of Maharishi Vidya Mandir, wants to do a course in animation. The participants, too, were quite enthusiastic about the encouraging footfall on the first day. “This kind of an educational fair is very important for us as we get an opportunity to interact with the students and know their mind,” a faculty member of ICFAI National College, Guwahati, Jagadish Nath, said. He said through Eduquest they not only aim to create awareness about the courses offered by their institution but also remove various misconceptions. Jagat J. Bora of the Bangalore-based East Point Group of Institutions said they were providing a complete bouquet — from primary school to post-graduation programmes in engineering, humanities, health sciences and management. Besides visiting the stalls of the institutions, students also got a chance to interact with Soumitra Banerjee, assistant professor at the Calcutta-based Camelia School of Business Management, who gave a detailed account of the MBA courses offered by the institute. He will also speak on Shining Career in Management and its Benefits at the venue tomorrow afternoon.