Secretary Department of Higher Education Shri Amit Khare addressed the Convocation ceremony of Dayalbagh Educational Institution, Agra today Prof.  Prem Kumar Kalra, Director, Dayalbagh Educational Institute also graced the occasion.

Congratulating students on their graduation, Shri Khare said that “India’s journey from being a third world, fledgling democracy to this position of power and eminence is the result of the toil and dedicated contribution of every section of society. The role of the educated people in any sector has been especially significant because they have guided and led this change in various capacities. Today you are joining this rank of educated intellectuals, the young enlightened Indians who will lead the world”.

Shri Khare expressed confidence that students graduating today will become future leaders and lead the world.  “It is this confidence that fuels our dreams for country’s missions like Start Up India, Skill India, Make in India- Make for the World and Atma Nirbhar Bharat”, he added.

He urged students to emerge not as ‘job seekers’ but as ‘job givers’,  to promote the individual capability of each student, teach them to think, equip them with the skills required to face the 21st century and global leaders – while imparting values rooted in Indian culture.

Secretary Shri Khare also said that the experience of the Covid pandemic would have given students a fresh perspective to life, and prepared them better for facing its vagaries in future.   

He appreciated the efforts of DEI in imparting multidisciplinary education in subjects as diverse as Quantum Computing to Textile Designing to Music, and its Vision 2031 to support the same principles that have been recommended by the National Education Policy 2020.  He said that the institute’s focus on value based quality education, inclusivity, multidisciplinarity, research, use of ICT – all align well with the NEP 2020, he added.

In this context he recalled his conversation with Prof. Kalra a few years ago, when Shri Kalra had highlighted that Dayalbagh is a unique institution that brings education and values together something which is now talked about in the National Education Policy 2020.  Shri Khare said that Dayalbagh Educational Institution in its philosophy and vision has been much ahead of times in its thinking of the day, and many of the ideas of National Education Policy 2020 are already enshrined in the ethos of DEI.

Highlighting India’s growing presence in the international media space, Secretary Khare mentioned about IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva praise on India’s decisive steps taken to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic”.

He prevailed upon the students to help those who have been less fortunate, who are deprived of the benefits that a good education provides.  He extended his best wishes to the students for a bright future.

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 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 18th Convocation of Tezpur University, Assam today through video conferencing. Governor of Assam Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Sarbananda Sonowal were also present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister said today’s young India has a distinctive way of taking on challenges. He used the recent performance of the young Indian cricket team in Australia to illustrate his point. The Indian cricket team faced so many challenges. They suffered crushing defeat yet recovered equally fast and won the next match. The Players showed determination despite injuries. They took the challenge head on and looked for fresh solutions instead of getting frustrated by difficult conditions. There were inexperienced players but their morale was high and they grabbed the opportunity given to them. They overpowered a better team with their talent and temperament.

The Prime Minister stressed that this stellar performance of our players is important not just from the point of view of the sports field. Shri Modi listed important life lessons from the performance. First, we should have faith and confidence in our ability; second, a positive mindset begets positive results. Third and most important lesson, said the Prime Minister, is – if one is facing two options, one safe and the other is an option of a difficult victory, one must surely explore the option of victory. There is no harm in occasional failure and one should not refrain from taking the risks. We need to be proactive and fearless. If we overcome the fear of failure and unnecessary pressure, we will emerge fearless. This new India, confident and dedicated to goals, is evident not only in the cricket field, all of you are part of this picture, the Prime Minister told the Students.

This self-confidence and absence of fear in trading the uncharted path and young energy has strengthened the country in its fight against Corona. India overcame the initial apprehensions and showed that with resolve and resilience, resources are not far behind. India took fast, proactive decisions instead of compromising with the situation and effectively fought with the virus. Made in India solutions contained the spread and improved the health infrastructure. Our vaccine related research and production capability is giving India and many other countries of the world confidence of a security shield, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also listed digital infrastructure enabling direct benefit transfer, fintech digital inclusion, world’s largest banking inclusion, world’s largest toilet construction movement, largest movement of providing tap water in every household, world’s largest health insurance scheme and world’s largest vaccination drive as testimony to today’s India’s attitude, unafraid of experimentation for solution and not averse to undertake large-scale projects. These projects are benefitting Assam and the Northeast.

The Prime Minister talked of new technologies that are creating new possibilities. Talking about the possibility of future universities which might be fully virtual providing students and faculty to be part of any university of the world, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for a regulatory framework for such transformation. He pointed out that the new National Education Policy is a step in this direction. This policy encourages maximum use of technology, multi-disciplinary education and flexibility. NEP puts stress on preparing our education system for data and data-analytics. Data analysis will massively improve the processes from admissions to teaching and evaluation.

The Prime Minister called upon the students of Tezpur University to help in fulfilling these goals. He said that, after finishing their formal education, they not only work for their future but for the future of the country. He advised them to keep their ideals high which will protect them from the vicissitudes of life. He said the next 25-26 years are important for them as well as their country and expressed the hope that the students will take the country to new heights.

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ congratulated the graduating students for successful completion of an important part of their lives and being eligible for jobs in various fields. He expressed happiness over the fact that many students among them were from foreign countries such as Zimbabwe, Ghana, Etopia, etc. and observed that it shows the principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” i.e “The world is one family”. He observed that the University has a mosaic culture and it is not surprising because the University itself is located at Tezpur, which is a cultural and historic place. He further added that cultural doyens like Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnuprasad Rabha, Natasurya Phani Sarma and Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s works are identified with Tezpur.

He hoped that the students would not only bring laurels to its own state but also play a crucial role in development of the nation. He said that in order to reform, transform and perform, the National Educational Policy (NEP) has been adopted, which will bring much needed qualitative change in the educational sector.  He said that NEP is focused on inclusive, impactful and innovative education and it will usher in a new era intellectual development in India.

A total of 1218 students received their degrees and diplomas in the Convocation out of which 371 were undergraduate, 725 postgraduate, 36 PG Diploma and 86 were Ph.D. Among the degree recipients, 46 toppers of various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes received Gold Medals. A Best Graduate and another Best Post Graduate of the year were also awarded Gold Medals in the Convocation.

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