State plans 300 Jawaharlal Nehru centres to promote scientific temper

The State government has drawn up plans to establish 300 Jawaharlal Nehru Centres for Scientific Temper across Kerala as part of a major initiative to foster rational, analytical and evidence-based thinking among students and the general public.

Envisaged as a hub-and-spokes network, the proposed centres will be linked to schools, colleges, libraries and other institutions to promote scientific temper and counter the spread of misinformation. The government hopes to revive the vision of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who regarded scientific temper as an essential civic and democratic value.

Official sources said preliminary discussions on the framework and implementation of the project have been completed. The government aims to operationalise the initiative within the next three months by launching pilot projects at select locations before a State-wide roll-out.

The programme seeks to reach around 15 lakh people, including youths, through a range of activities designed to strengthen evidence-based thinking, encourage innovation and institutionalise the promotion of scientific temper.

The initiative was one of the key promises in the United Democratic Front’s election manifesto and was announced in the State Budget presented recently by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

As part of the programme, the government will prepare books, posters and new media content on scientific temper and train a pool of resource persons to conduct outreach activities. Educational institutions, libraries and other public institutions will serve as partner centres for implementing the programme.

A State-level nodal agency will coordinate the initiative, which the government plans to institutionalise as a long-term programme for promoting scientific thinking across all age groups.

The proposed centres will organise awareness campaigns, competitions, science communication programmes and citizen science initiatives. They will also institute awards to recognise outstanding institutions and individuals for their contributions to the promotion of scientific temper. Another key objective will be to dispel myths and misinformation through evidence-based public engagement.

The initiative also seeks to create an academic ecosystem that enables students and the wider public to engage with emerging and advanced technologies while nurturing scientific curiosity, research aptitude and innovation, sources added.