Higher Education Minister R. Bindu has emphasised the role of knowledge in liberating society from the shackles of ignorance, be it of the parochial kind or that caused by illiteracy.
“Knowledge must liberate us not only from the poverty of the material kind, but also the poverty of the mind. It must help us to live together peacefully in society as human beings with humane values,” she said while delivering the convocation address at the 36th convocation of the Thiruvananthapuram regional centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here on Monday.
Dr. Bindu also stressed on aiming for the holistic development of learners through education and also training the youth in life skills and industry-related skills. Younger generations must also be encouraged to become entrepreneurs who can convert the knowledge they have acquired into products and utilities, and utilise their talents to incubate ideas into profitable businesses.
Elaborating on the efforts made by the State government in addressing social disparities, the Minister said various steps are being undertaken to empower disadvantaged sections of the society by enhancing access to higher education as well as increasing the quality of education that is imparted.
As many as 4,251 students received their degrees and diplomas under the regional centre. These include 1,823 students who pursued Master degree programmes (except programmes in management and computer science), 1,022 in Bachelor degree programmes and 961 in Post Graduate diploma programmes.
Six gold medallists – Aswin S. in Master of Gandhi and Peace Studies, Sini Sabu in Master of Arts in Economics, Rakesh Kumar Sharma in Master of Arts in Hindi, Athira Satheesh in Master of Arts in Social Work (Counselling), Jose C.P. in Bachelor of Social Work and Lovy Mariyam Rajan in Master of Journalism and Mass Communication – were honoured at the convocation.
Gayathri K., who also bagged the gold medal in Post Graduate Diploma in Animal Welfare, received the Ahimasa Trust Gold Medal from President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi.
IGNOU senior regional director B. Sukumar also spoke on the occasion.
Published - April 03, 2023 09:40 pm IST
