SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Tuesday, signed Memorandums of Understanding – one of them being a free B.Tech programme for 3 children of martyrs in addition to education programmes for children of CRPF staff.
Free seats:
The key component of one of the MoUs is 3 free seats every year for children of personnel of all ranks of CRPF who have attained martyrdom during their service to pursue B.Tech programmes at SRM IST.
The MoU was signed by Ms. Jeyaseeli Dhinakaran, President of Regional CWA – CRPF Welfare Association, and Dr. C.Muthamizhchelvan, Vice Chancellor, SRM IST, and exchanged in the presence of Dr. S.L. Thaosen, Director General, CRPF, and Ms. Ajitha Thousen, President, CWA.
Another MoU between CRPF – India’s largest and longest service central police force and SRM IST – India’s pre-eminent institution offering higher education programmes in engineering, technology, management, medicine, agriculture, law, and arts and science to initiate interaction between the two and to enable training and research in various disciplines was signed by Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Inspector General of Police, CRPF and Dr. Muthamizhchelvan.
Huge challenges ahead:
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Thousen said that advancements in science and technology, 5G communication, modern gadgets, will be one area that will be a huge challenge for law enforcement and security agencies to address. He said he was hoping for institutions like SRM to partner with them in their Communication Institute, which was earlier called as Signal Battalion. He said CRPF was the principal agency entrusted with maintaining internal security and law order. “Whenever trouble breaks out, CRPF is always the first to go – be it Jammu and Kashmir, especially after the abrogation of Article 370, the current crisis in Manipur, or tackling left-wing extremism,” the CRPF chief remarked.
Training on technology will increase:
Later, in a brief interaction with the media, Dr. Thousen said that they had recently reviewed their training programmes and concluded that there needs to be greater exposure to technology – in the initial training of 50 or 52 weeks or in-service courses.
To a specific question, he said that for selecting eligible candidates for the free seats for B.Tech programmes for children of martyred CRPF personnel, parameters like areas served, years of service, and others will be taken into account.
SRM IST’s commitment to science & technology:
Dr. Thousen recalled that he had last visited SRM IST when it successfully conducted the Indian Science Congress, inaugurated by the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. “The successful conduct of the Science Congress is a testimony to SRM’s commitment to education in science and technology,” Dr. Thousen remarked, and also thanked the institution’s management for its gesture for training its personnel and also for the seats for children.
Milestone for SRM IST:
In his address, Dr. Muthamizhchelvan said the MoU was a milestone in the history of SRM IST – India’s largest multi-disciplinary higher education institution. The MoU with India’s largest central police force was unique as it gave scope for both of them to learn from each other and also to offer their strengths.