World Class Universities in India an achievable aspiration, says President

     The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the Annual Convocation of Assam University


 (May 14, 2013) at Silchar. After the Convocation, he inaugurated an Innovators’ Exhibition and an Innovation Club at the University.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said to make education accessible to more students, our efforts must be directed at bringing higher education closer to our population to particularly those in remote corners of the country. We must remove the imbalances in the reach of higher education across states, regions and sections of society. 

The President said knowledge pursuit has many dimensions. It brings Gender equity as a result of access and reach. He said he is happy to know that the North-East has focused its attention on education for women and it is resulted in a large of number of North-Eastern girls are now pursuing education in major cities of India and are also employed in metropolitan cities. 

The President said we must remember that once we had world class universities in Nalanda and Takshashila. Therefore, the dream of creating world class universities in India is an achievable aspiration. India with strong scientific and technical manpower has the opportunity to become a major knowledge power in the years to come. To make this dream a reality, we have to invest in research and development. 

The President congratulated the Assam University for organising the Innovators’ Exhibition. He said this is a pioneering initiative which recognizes the creative and innovative talent at the grassroots and links it to the formal education system. He called upon the University to strengthen this linkage and extend it to various institutes of science and technology in the region. This would enable the innovators to establish the technology for commercial use. 

The President also congratulated the Vice Chancellor and faculty members of Assam University also for identifying Inspired Teachers and said this is the first University to do so. 

The President said an inspired teacher leaves a deep impact on young minds. Through their conduct and life example, an inspired teacher makes a profound contribution to character-building in students.