TIRUVARUR: Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan on Monday said higher education had witnessed tremendous expansion in the last 12 years due to the visionary efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Delivering the 11th convocation address of the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Tiruvarur, after giving away gold medals to 50 graduands, including 37 female students, the Vice-President said that since 2014, as many as 16 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IITs) had been established, adding that eight Central Universities, eight IIMs, seven IITs, two IISERs and one NIT were newly established in the country.
"And above all, 12 new AIIMS have been established," he said.
He further added that India now has more than 1,425 universities, 54,000 colleges and 16,850 stand-alone institutions.
He pointed out that education is the only tool with which poverty can be eradicated.
"By educating society, we are equipping them (people) to earn for themselves, and poverty will get eradicated," he added.
He further stated that women's enrolment in higher education, which was 1.57 crore in 2014-15, increased to 2.24 crore in 2023-24, a massive 42.2% increase.
The Vice-President advised the students to adapt themselves to the fast-changing situation, whether it is Artificial Intelligence or any other new technology that is going to emerge.
"In a rapidly changing world, knowledge alone is no longer sufficient. The greatest strength will belong to those who continue learning throughout their life, adapt confidently to change, embrace innovation, and work collaboratively to solve complex problems," he added.
He further said education today is no longer measured only by examinations or marks and that it is measured by the ability to think independently, communicate effectively and work with others, which is more important.
"This is precisely the spirit of the National Education Policy 2020," he added.
Referring to the passage of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill in Parliament, Radhakrishnan said that when he was the Governor of Jharkhand, the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Prevention and Redressal of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill was passed. "Many people advised me not to sign that bill to become the law," he said, adding that without hesitation, he signed the bill immediately for it to become law.
"Because we always keep in mind that unless the bad elements of the society get punished, nobody can protect the interest of the good people," he added.
At the convocation, a total of 1,103 graduands were conferred degrees. Of them, 616 are women and 487 are men.
Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Nagapattinam MP V Selvaraj, Chancellor of CUTN G Padmanaban, and V-C (in-charge) Sulochana Shekhar were present.
