Jammu, November 29 (Scoop News) – The team comprising Anshul Gupta of the Government M. A. M. College, Jammu, and Abhinandan Singh of the Government College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu won the Silver Rolling Trophy, instituted by N. N. Vohra, Jammu and Kashmir Governor, at the 2nd Annual Inter-State (Northern Zone) Declamation Contest, which was organized by the Department of Higher Education at the Government College for Women, Gandhinagar, Jammu.
The Runner-Up Trophy was bagged by the team comprising Junaid Yasin of the Islamia College, Srinagar and Ms. Insha Gul of the Women College, Nawakadal, Srinagar.
N. N. Vohra, Governor, was the Chief Guest, while s. Usha Vohra, First Lady, was the Guest of Honour on the occasion. Abdul Gani Malik presided over the Valedictory Session of the Declamation Contest.
The Governor, speaking on the occasion, stressed the usefulness of sharing infrastructure, equipments and facilities and engendering effective collaborations among the institutions of higher learning for optimizing benefits of the available resources for the students. In this context, he emphasized the need for the Universities of the State, getting increasingly associated with the academic activities of the Colleges and, in turn, the Colleges being involved with the activities of the Higher Secondary Schools so that there is enhanced knowledge and information sharing, to the best advantage of the students.
Referring to the Annual Inter-State (Northern Zone) Declamation Contest for the Silver Rolling Trophy, the Governor urged s. Tanveer Jehan, Commissioner/Secretary Higher Education, to please direct that, in future, instead of calling the speakers by their allotted Code Numbers their names, the class and the College in which they are studying should be mentioned before they speak.
The Governor said that the boys and girls of J&K are second to none and they can compete with best of their counterparts in other parts of the country. As such, he said that the effort should be made to ensure participation of the maximum number of students from Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu regions, particularly from the remote areas so that they get an adequate exposure and opportunity to express themselves. He added that to further raise the bar of competition effort need to be made to ensure participation of students from best colleges of Delhi.
The Governor complimented the Higher Education Department and the College for organizing the Second Northern Zone Inter-State Declamation Contest and suggested that, in future, this Competition should be organized at a time when there is no academic pressure on the students so that they could participate in larger numbers from all the regions of the State and elsewhere.
Congratulating the Government College for Women, Gandhinagar, Jammu, for being accredited with A Grade, the Governor said that efforts should be intensified so that a good number of colleges in the State get such status.
The Governor, lauding the contestants for their high level performances, interacted with them and wished them a bright future ahead.
The First Lady observed that such mega declamation contests provide an opportunity to the students to learn how to marshal their thoughts and speak clearly and cogently in public. She added that, along with academics, the education system needs to also focus on nurturing moral and ethical values among the youth for their balanced personality development. She said that in the race for success one should not lose sight of these values, adding that honesty and sincerity of purpose are the key to success.
Abdul Gani Malik, Minister for Higher Education, expressed his gratitude to the Governor for instituting the Silver Rolling Trophy. He said that this Contest, conceptualized by the Governor, can emerge as a guiding factor for determining the changes for making higher education in the State more relevant and vibrant to meet the emerging challenges on this front.
Later, the Governor presented the Silver Rolling Trophy to the winning team and also gave away a Trophy to the runner-up team. He gave away individual trophies to Anshul Gupta of the Government M. A. M. College, Jammu, for being adjudged first; Abhinandan Singh of the Government College of Engineering and Technology, Jammu, for standing second and to Ms. Polina Singh of the Government College for Women, Gandhinagar, Jammu, for being adjudged third in the contest. He also gave away consolation prizes to Junaid Yasin from Islamia College, Srinagar and Ms. Asma of Government Women College,
M. A. Road, Srinagar. He also gave away individual prizes and participation certificates to all the contestants and presented mementos to the Jury comprising Prof. Ved Kumari Ghai, Prof. Zeenat Ara, s. Seema Khajuria Shekhar, Prof. Varun Tripathi and Prof. Neelu Rohmetra.The Governor and the First Lady were honoured on the occasion by presenting mementos to them.
Prof. Satinder Singh, Principal, GGM Science College, Jammu, presented a Vote of Thanks.
Earlier, Ms. Anjusha, a B. A. Part I student presented a Bhaint on this occasion.
R. K. Goyal, Principal Secretary to the Governor, s. Tanveer Jehan, Commissioner/Secretary, Higher Education, Prof. Nalini Kohli, Principal, Government College for Women, Gandhinagar Jammu, Principals of various colleges, senior officers, college teachers and students were present on the occasion.