Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates VKNRL School of Nursing

A Correspondent

NUMALIGARH, July 14: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday formally inaugurated the VKNRL School of Nursing - one of the flagship CSR projects undertaken by Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) at Numaligarh.

Also present on the occasion were State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Minister of Human Resources & IT, Keshav Mahanta, Sarupathar MLA Roselina Tirkey, MD NRL, SK Barua; Director (Technical)-NRL, BJ Phukan, district authorities, senior officials of NRL, Vivekananda Kendra and VKNRL Hospital and a host of invitees and distinguished guests.

Sonowal lauded NRL for setting up a world class institute in this part of the State to cater to skill development of youths, especially women. "Great responsibility lies with the VKNRL School of Nursing for developing young nurses who are compassionate, trustworthy and emphatic apart from technical skills," he said.

MD NRL, SK Barua in his welcome address said that the nursing school project was expected to bring about a sea change in the socio-economic development of the region and had been planned in alignment with the Government of India's focus on skill development, women empowerment, education of the girl child and rural health care. This social venture was conceived with the objective of providing opportunities to underprivileged girl students in the areas surrounding Numaligarh Refinery to become self-reliant while bridging the shortfall of trained nurses in the State as well as the country, he said.

The VKNRL School of Nursing is one of the biggest CSR projects undertaken by NRL, with total project cost to the tune Rs. 26 crore. The school will roll out 40-60 girl students per year for the GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) course offered. The first batch of students, mostly from Golaghat district, has already been enrolled in the 2017-18 session.

Entirely driven by an all-women team of students, Principal, faculty, contract workers and vendors for support service, the VKNRL Nursing School is managed by the VKNRL Nursing School Trust comprising of members from NRL and Vivekananda Kendra.