Event begins to promote sports, culture in tech institutes

Patna: Education minister Sunil Kumar inaugurated the state-level annual sports and literary-cultural competition, Umang-2026, at the Patliputra Sports Complex here on Saturday.The event is being organised for students of government engineering colleges and polytechnic institutes under the department of science, technology and technical education. The department’s secretary, Pratima, and director, Ahmad Mahmood, attended the opening ceremony along with other officials.The minister said the competition provides a platform for co-curricular activities in technical institutions.

He said the initiative began in the 2023-24 academic session to groom leadership skills among participants. He also highlighted programmes like ‘Medal Lao, Naukri Pao’, an initiative that recognises talent in Bihar.Pratima outlined the three-tier structure of the competition. She said students qualify through institution and division-level competitions to reach the finals. Competitions for polytechnic institutes will be held from Feb 7 to 9, while contests for engineering students will be organised from Feb 10 to 12.

Sports competitions will be held at the Patliputra Sports Complex, while literary and cultural events will be organised at Government Polytechnic, Gulzarbagh. About 900 polytechnic students are participating in various competitions. Mahmood added that with coordinated efforts of nodal officers and committees, the logistics are being managed.