3-day 'APAI Pre-Counselling Fair 2022' inaugurated

kolkata: The three-day 'APAI Pre-Counselling Fair 2022' was inaugurated on Wednesday and will be held till Friday at Netaji Indoor Stadium providing pre-counselling for e-Admission to Engineering & Technical Education institutes in Bengal.
Taking forward a proposal that was mooted at the inauguration, the state Industry and Commerce department will soon hold a meeting with representatives from the Association of Professional Academic Institutions, West Bengal (APAI) to examine the possibilities of extending support to the engineering and technical education students who are interested in taking up start-up ventures.
The campuses of the various educational institutions that are imparting education to these students are ready to provide space in this matter.
The proposal of taking forward this start-up initiative with the support of the state Industry and Commerce department was placed before the state Industry and Commerce minister Shashi Panja who was present at the inaugural ceremony of the event.
"She has agreed and we will soon hold a meeting for preparing a roadmap in this matter,"Satyam Roy Chowdhury, General Secretary APAI said.
Panja said the final call in this regard will be taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
For the first time, the Fair is being held in hybrid mode this year so that students from every nook and corner of the state as well as outside Bengal can get requisite information regarding various courses offered by the engineering and technical institutions in the state.
Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, state Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs minister said that the tendency of students to travel to south India for the pursuit of higher education has come down drastically with the educational infrastructure developed in Bengal under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Roy Chowdhury added that 35 per cent of students studying engineering are coming from outside Bengal, so the online mode of interaction will be of immense benefit for them.
State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said that industry and employment are priorities of the government and all steps are being taken to attract investment in Bengal.
Sardar Taranjit Singh, President of APAI said: "There will be scholarship facilities for 50 students on each day of the fair through a lottery. Students getting the scholarship will be offered a discount of Rs 10,000 in their course fees."
The exposition is supported by the state Higher Education department, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology and the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE).