CM Pinarayi promises youth of Kerala opportunity to ‘study and earn’

Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has promised the youth of Kerala the opportunity to work while studying. He said the opportunity to work and develop vocational skills was attracting students from the state to foreign countries.

“Such facilities will be set up here also. Projects like Industry on Campus and Young Innovators Programme were implemented as part of this. The government will offer all help to those who step out to make innovative ideas into products and entrepreneurial ventures,” the chief minister said, in a confidence-building measure aimed at the young population of the state.

He called upon the youth to not fall for what he termed false propaganda that Kerala is not business-friendly. He was inaugurating the Professional Students Summit at Angamaly which was organised to provide students with the opportunity to interact with experts from diverse fields.

Pinarayi said the government was aware of the students’ anxiety triggered by the false propaganda that youth were leaving Kerala and that the state does not have a business-friendly atmosphere.

He said the government has formed the new education policy with the aim of improving the fields of science and technology, engineering and medical science.

“Internship opportunities will be created for students of all professional courses just like for those studying medicine and law,” he said.

The chief minister highlighted the state’s recent achievements in the ‘ease of doing business’ ranking and startup sector.

Chairing the meet, Higher Education Minister R Bindu reiterated the government’s proclaimed policy to convert the state into a knowledge economy. “The government’s aim is to raise the standard of the state’s educational institutions to a global level,” she said.

“Incubation centres and translational research centres are being opened in universities with the aim of encouraging students’ innovative ideas and making them beneficial for the knowledge sector. Over Rs 1,000 crore is spent on this,” she said.