Maharashtra Science Olympiad winners felicitated

36 children were honoured at the felicitation ceremony of the Maharashtra Science Olympiad held here on Monday. The event was organised by the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd (MKCL) along with the Indian Consortium for Educational Transformation (I- CONSENT). Speaking on the occassion, Prof Krishna N Ganesh,director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) said,“Once a student told me :Right from the time we start going to school we are taught how to answer questions,nobody tells us to ask questions. This comment from a student set me thinking.”

Out of the group of 36,19 were awarded gold,silver and bronze medals today on the basis of their performance at the Nurturing Excellence and Talent (NET) programme that aims at preparing students for the national and international science Olympiads. These 36 students were also selected for a five-day workshop that concluded on May 22. Motivated by the guidance received at MKCL,Lokesh Maru,a student from Malegaon has started his own classes just after appearing for his Std X board exams to help students in his town. “With the help of three teachers from Aurangabad and one local teacher,I have been guiding about 20 students for the National Science Olympiad for the last few months.”

Prof Ganesh further added,“At present the main problem of the education system is that we need some kind of backward integration in our education. Right from the school level we have to motivate students to take up research oriented sciences rather than flocking towards engineering and medicine only. Quality teaching is also a major problem.”