High turnout at career fair

GANGTOK, June 9: The Statesman Sikkim International Career and Educational Fair 2008, jointly organised by The Statesman and Barry Tourism Management Company, evoked a tremendous response at the Guards Ground here today. Academicians, students, their guardians and people from different walks of life arrived in large numbers at the exhibition since early morning. Officials of the 26 educational institutions were pleased with the turn out.

The fete ended late in the afternoon today. A colourful presentation by various cultural groups from the state, was the first of its kind exhibition in the hill station. Mr GM Gurung, state minister of human resource development, current affairs and heritage, who visited the stalls at the fair said their objective was to include various institutes of the country to generate awareness among the people about the value of technical skills and higher education.

A number of seminars, panel discussions as well as a quiz competition was organised at the fair today. Representatives of almost all the institutions at the exhibition attended the programmes and a large number of students from various schools in the city and its adjoining areas took part in the quiz contest. The Statesman awarded a special prize to a student, who answered a question on the edition of the newspaper from Siliguri, correctly. The student won a classic collection of articles published by CR Irani in his renowned column, Caveat.

The visitors, who included academicians from UK and many other neighbouring countries as well as students of classes I and III like six-year-old Zarina Khatun and her nine-year-old sister Khushboo Khatun, enjoyed the fair. “I am very happy. The teachers here were very good to us. We would love to be taught by teachers like them,” said Zarina. [The Statesman]