After almost 100 years, the country has got a visionary leadership in PM Modi, higher education should take advantage of the opportunity: Vice Chancellor
The role of higher education is important in making India one of the top three economies of the world, higher education is the bridge to make India a developed India
Gorakhpur: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University Vice Chancellor Prof. Rajesh Singh today addressed the 36th convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University at Lucknow Regional Center.
Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu was the Chief Guest and Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan was Guest of Honour of the Convocation at IGNOU New Delhi.
Addressing the Convocation as 'Guest of Honour' at Lucknow Center, the Vice-Chancellor congratulated all the gold medalists and degree holders and wished them a bright future.
The Vice Chancellor said that with the globalization of trade and commerce, the world today has shrunk into a small community. Today it is necessary to understand the basic importance of quality education. Since independence, there has been tremendous growth in the number of schools, colleges and universities, but the impact of education, especially higher education, has been very low. Educational institutions have not been able to meet the aspirations of the young generation. Today the total population of the young generation participating in higher education is more than 80 lakhs, but it is a small part of our total population. According to a World Bank estimate, about 6% of the population aged 18 to 23 attend higher education in India, compared to an average of 51% in developed countries and 21% in middle-income countries.
The Vice Chancellor said that the NEP-2020 has set a target of 50 percent Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) in higher education by 2035. IGNOU has tried to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) by offering high quality teaching through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode. However, there is a need for expanding higher education with accessibility, equity and relevance.
On this occasion, I am happy to share with you all that DDU Gorakhpur University got A++ grade and 3.78 score on 4-point scale in NAAC evaluation, becoming the fourth university in the country to get such a high score. The message is that quality of education is very important. It doesn't matter from where in India it is coming. DDU Gorakhpur University is situated in Poorvanchal which is considered as one of the backward regions of the country. The A++ garde shows that excellence can be achieved from backward regions also. It just requires showcasing and presentation of your strength.
*Courses will have to be made according to the demand of the industry*
One important thing is that we introduced about 1850 new courses through 125 new programmes. We revised all programme under NEP as CBCS/Semester and credit based programmes. Every curriculum should be embedded with market-based skills. By the time a new course is created, the demand of the industry changes or the industry itself changes. Efforts have to be made in higher education to make courses as per the demand of the industry. We have a visionary Prime Minister of the Century. Take advantage of the opportunity of the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister of the Country. The youth population is the biggest asset. After nearly 100 years, the Country has got a visionary leadership in Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. He is very passionate about the development of Country to be among the 3 best economies of the world along with the US and China. There is a need to take advantage of this opportunity. Higher education has an important role in making India one of the three economies of the world. Higher education is the bridge to make India a developed India.
VC said that Government alone cannot provide employment to all, Government alone cannot eliminate unemployment. Government cannot provide employment to all. For this we need to develop talent. Our students are very talented. Where there is talent, companies like Microsoft, Amazon go there. If we develop the talent, then these companies will come here.
*Universities get ready for the challenge of providing quality online education*
Many educational institutions today are offering distance learning and online courses. The need of the hour is to maintain the quality of online courses, materials and also the evaluation system. The need to offer a bouquet of online courses to our students. In the post- Covid world, the challenge is from foreign universities like MIT. MIT offers more than 2000 free online courses. Our universities should gear up to the challenge to provide quality online education.
*IGNOU fulfilling educational aspirations of over 3 million students*
Since its inception in 1985, IGNOU has been continuously working towards creating an inclusive knowledge society through inclusive education by ensuring reach to every section of the society and every region of the country. IGNOU started with two academic programs in 1987 with 4,528 students and today it serves more than 3 million students in India and other countries through a network of 21 Schools of Studies and 67 Regional Centres, about 2,667 Learner Support Centers and 29 overseas partner institutions. Meets the educational aspirations of the students. IGNOU offers around 228 Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Doctoral programs.
On this occasion, Dr. Manorama Singh, Senior Regional Director of Lucknow Regional Centre, IGNOU, distinguished members of the academic community and degree and diploma awardees of IGNOU's Lucknow were present.