BENGALURU: A senior citizen was on Wednesday awarded a gold medal in the first-ever convocation for diploma graduates in the country.
Seventy-year-old Narayana Bhat, who ranked first in the Civil Engineering diploma in the state with a score of 94.88 per cent, was awarded a diploma and gold medal by Higher Education Minister Ashwath Narayan.
Bhat, who studied at MES College, Sirsi, was one of 106 graduates to be awarded medals on Wednesday, as part of the first diploma convocation held in the country. The graduates had ranked first, second and third in 36 diploma courses across the state.
The minister said the decision to hold the convocation was taken so that diploma students are treated the same as other students who take up higher education courses.
The convocation is named after Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar for his contributions to the development of the education and industrial sectors.