COIMBATORE: Higher education institutions must prioritise efforts to achieve a fully developed nation by 2047, said Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Saturday.
Participating in the valedictory session of the conference of vice-chancellors of state, central, and private universities of Tamil Nadu at Raj Bhavan in Udhagamandalam on the second consecutive day, Ravi said, “Our vice-president rightly referred to vice-chancellors as the stewards of India’s educational landscape. It is true that each of you (the V-Cs) are moulding and shaping the lives, futures and destiny of lakhs of students.”
The governor also presented certificates to the conference participants, and said that success means creating capable graduates who meet real-world challenges with confidence, and the V-Cs should work to create such graduates.
“65% of India’s population is the youth, and they should be created as capable and skilled individuals. Post-independence, our country has unfortunately witnessed, with pain, that many nations that were once behind us have now surpassed us. Perhaps we have not fully revealed the potential hidden within us,” Ravi said, adding, “When I visited China in 2008, Chinese academicians said India is succeeding in the Information Technology sector. Now, China has achieved significant development through their quiet efforts.”
“We might not have fully utilised our efforts, and we must coordinate our efforts. Institutions must collaborate with industries, and bat for science and technology to create new knowledge and an ecosystem. Educational institutions should use Artificial Intelligence to teach disabled children as it would help their education. Educational institutions must also work towards securing more patents,” the governor stated, noting that China and the US have a high number of patents.
VCs, directors and heads of departments of state, private and central universities participated in the conference.