CHENNAI: More than 70,000 students from the University of Madras graduated with various degrees at the 161st Annual Convocation of the varsity on Wednesday. While 434 graduands received their degrees, awards, prizes and medals in person, 70,430 received it in absentia.
Arun Kumar Bhudari, the director of Indira Gandhi Centre of Atomic Research, the chief guest at the convocation appealed to graduating students, urging them to enter research or teaching. “We have been taught by the best teachers but we do not want to come back to teaching,”he said.
Presenting the 2017-18 academic report of the university, ViceChancellor P Duraisamy said that marksheets, consolidated marksheets and provisional certificates have been uploaded in the online system with QR codes immediately after the publication of the results. “Most of our students have downloaded and utilised it for admission and employment. We are working to upload the certificates, in the National Academic Depository,”he said. He stated that the enrollment in distance education programmes has increased by seven per cent in 2017-18. He further added that the university has recorded 1,494 publications in the last three calendar years. “To encourage faculty members and scholars to publish in high-impact journals, the university will reimburse up to `30,000 towards submission fee. Further, a subsidy of `20,000-`30,000 will be given towards publication of books,” he said.
Speaking about developments in the infrastructure of the university, he said that students will soon get a fitness centre at a budget of `2.4 crore. Duraisamy added that the international hostel at Taramani has been renovated and an additional 170 rooms will soon be available for female students. Higher Education Minister KP Anbalagan and Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who is also the chancellor of the university were also present at the convocation.
The University of Madras has 87 teaching and research departments, spread over six campuses, 135 affiliated colleges and 53 affiliated research institutions with a strength of about 3.51 lakh students.