Agartala: The Tripura government on Tuesday signed an agreement with Ramakrishna Mission, Agartala, to set up Northeast's first school of languages and centre for human excellence here, an official said.

Chief Minister Manik Saha, Skill Development department Secretary, Kiran Gitte, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission, Agartala, Swami Shubhakarananda and Director of Skill Development Pradeep K were present during the agreement signing ceremony at the conference hall of the Civil Secretariat.

Through this initiative, the Ramakrishna Mission will set up a school of languages offering certificate courses in popular foreign languages such as German, French, Japanese and Spanish, along with important Indian languages including Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali.

Terming the event a milestone step toward learning foreign languages, the chief minister said that employability is enhanced when education meets skill.

"The school of language and centre for human excellence will provide a platform for the youth to learn foreign languages and build character to lead the state in the future," he said.

Gitte said this institution will be the first in Northeast India to offer certificate courses in popular foreign languages.

"The institute will be operational within the next two months with 100 seats annually, and this number will increase once a full-fledged campus is built at Dhaleshwar (in the city). Currently, the Ramakrishna Mission is running two foreign language institutions in Hyderabad and Kolkata," he said.

Swami Shubhakarananda said the chief minister had approached the Ramakrishna Mission last year to set up a foreign language school in the state.

"Finally, we have entered into an agreement with the state government to set up a foreign language school and centre for human excellence. The initiative will provide a platform for the youths to learn foreign language," he said.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.