| BERHAMPUR: Odisha Governor and Chancellor of Berhampur University, SC Jamir said the upgradation of knowledge should be utilised for the betterment of others, than the achievement of personal front.
Speaking at the 19th convocation of Berhampur University on Wednesday, he said the present generation is equipped with unlimited flow of information and constant upgradation of knowledge, but is in a hurry to achieve everything.
“This is a good sign as it characterises the youth, but if this desire to achieve is focused on achievement on personal front, then I would say the youth is on the wrong track. But if it is fired by the desire of doing good to others, then those belonging to my generation would have to sigh of relief,” Jamir said.
The Chancellor advised students to grow and allow others to grow. “Not allowing other talent to grow or for that matter, suppressing creativity for the growth of self is perhaps the crudest form of selfishness,” he said. He added teachers should evolve a mechanism where students can embark on a journey of self analysis and introspection in order to make themselves capable to face the competitions in life.
Addressing the convocation, secretary general, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) Furqan Qamar stressed on the need for more investment in higher education for the development of infrastructure, labs and human resources. “Enhanced investment in higher education may enable universities, colleges and other institutions to upgrade their physical facilities and teaching-research related infrastructures. These may also enable them to create number of faculty and other support positions,” he said.
Speaking on the low gross enrollment ratio (GER), he said women comprise over 40 per cent of the total enrollment in higher education sector but when it comes to their participation in various discipline, it remains uneven. “Although participation of students belonging to tribal and minorities community in higher education has increased since Independence, their enrollment ratio continues to remain much below the national average,” he said.
Vice Chancellor, Deepak Kumar Behera, highlighted different development programmes of the university.
On the occasion, the university conferred the honorary degrees like LL.D and D.Litt to former MP and veteran communist leader Duti Krushna Panda and eminent artist and writer Dinanath Pathy for their contribution to the society. As many as 21 PG students received gold medals for their outstanding performance. Three best graduates of the university - Priyanka Mohapatra (Arts), Swarup Kumar Patnaik (Science) and Suman Agarwal (Commerce) - also received gold medals |