Sir,
While addressing the convocation ceremony of Goa University on Apr 25, 2017, President Pranab Mukherjee has rightly asked the universities to produce men and women of substance and character and not merely competent professionals. (DE, Apr 26, 2017).There is no doubt that universities and other institutes of higher learning are social institutions aiming to bring desirable social changes through the gift of knowledge.So they ought to carry out their responsibility as a social entity.They are entrusted with the responsibility of producing students who are not only academically and professionally sound but who are are able to face the challanges of life and are highly motivated and suitably trained to solve the vexed problems that come their way during the course of their life.The students, while pursuing academic and professional courses in universities and other higher institutions of learning,also ought to strive hard to develop the qualities of patriotism, honesty, empathy and other higher values of life for which our country is known across the world.The President has also laid stress on the empowerment of women who are expected to play an important role to have a positive impact on our future.Unless women in our country are adequately empowered, we can not think of social transformation and economic development of our country.The universities also ought to introduce such courses which have employability in the market and also lay stress on quality education so that our universities and higher institutes of learning figure among the top such institutes of the world, for which the President has expressed his desire on more than one occasion.
Yours etc….
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur.