Dr. B. Sukumar, Regional Director, Indira Gandhi National Open University,
Dr. Sibu G Netto, Assistant Regional Director, IGNOU,
Dear Graduands,
Sahodaree Sahodaranmaare,
Madhyama Suhruthukkale,
Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram,
It gives me joy beyond description to address you all as Chief Guest at the 30th Convocation of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, organized in Thiruvananthapuram by the Regional Center of this prestigious institution.
Let me at the outset, congratulate all the graduands who are participating in this Convocation. This certainly is a proud moment which celebrates your excellent performance in the course work and the examinations. I too share the joy and pride that you and your families would be experiencing at this moment.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University, established in 1985,is a unique center of higher education that all of us can be truly proud of. Popularly known as IGNOU, it is the world's largest Open University that advances and disseminates learning and knowledge through a diversity of means, including the use of modern technology.
Through the vast coverage it offers, this University has contributed greatly to the building of a knowledge society through inclusive education. Above all, this temple of learning celebrates the vision of our former Prime Minister, the Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, who believed in education as the greatest force of liberation and democratization. True to her far-sight, this University has succeeded considerably in providing seamless access to education for all by advancing the frontiers of knowledge and using sustainable distance and open learning facilities.
Coming to the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University, I have been informed that nearly two thousand candidates, including 429 post-graduates and over one thousand graduates are eligible to receive their degree in this Convocation. This Regional Centre, which covers three southern districts of Kerala and three districts of Tamil Nadu has 49 sub-centers, which offer 118 different courses, some of which are not offered by other conventional universities. Besides, IGNOU has perhaps the largest number of working people as students.
One can doubtlessly say that it was Indira Gandhi National Open University which opened a new trend of constructive liberalization in higher education in our country. In the first place, it did away with the usual rigidity in the terms of enrollment that prevailed in our higher education sector. Secondly, it offered courses that enabled thousands of employed persons to upgrade their knowledge and skills and to perform better in their jobs. The flexibility in the choice of subjects, the effective management of classes and the stability in the conduct of examinations proved to be learner-friendly and very useful. No wonder, this university now has over 2.98 million learners worldwide and it could win the Award of Excellence of the Commonwealth of Learning, Canada.
While we acknowledge the spread of higher education in India, we should also consider the problems of unemployment and poverty that still plague our society. The economic liberalization that we had witnessed in the last two decades has had its impact on many sectors including higher education. One immediate result was the increase in the number of institutions. We now have over 800 universities and over 39,000 colleges in our country.
As per details given by the All India Council of Technical Education, the number of technical schools in India, including Engineering Colleges, has grown almost three fold. Yet, we are running short of trained and skilled personnel to occupy several positions in today's job market. According to National Association of Software Companies (NASSCOM), though over three million graduates are added to the Indian work force, hardly 25% of the technical graduates are employable. We should also remember that not more than 7% of our people between the age group of 18 to 25 years are lucky to go to college.
All these facts point to the need to improve the employability of our graduates. While the Skill India Mission is actively engaged in a programme to upgrade skills of our youth, our higher education sector also cannot lag behind in imparting skills that match the needs of the industry. However, this should not be seen as a licence to dilute the quality of education by dancing to the tune of any one Industry, just because it offers more openings at a given time. Superior knowledge and skills must go hand in hand, thereby equipping the graduates with scholarship as well as practical wisdom, which will enable them to go beyond the industry.
When I say going beyond the Industry, I mean that you should use your scholarship to ignite your thinking process. While all of us are quite thrilled about the job opportunities that await us in the coming years, we should also remember that many of them would belong to the programmed category, where people would be required to carry out the tasks set by others. A strong university education should enable us to think beyond such opportunities and move towards innovation in our areas of work or study.
As most of you would be aware, as per a recent report of the Global Start-up ecosystem, India has been rated as the third most promising ecosystem for Start-ups. By the year 2020, we expect to have over 11,000 start-ups that would employ over 2.5 lakh people. It may be true that at present, half a dozen cities in India represent nearly 90% of the Start-ups, but we should soon see a wider distribution of such ventures. The recent IT Policy of the Government of Kerala also lays great emphasis on encouraging Start-up companies. I am certain that the coming years would be one of INDOVATION, which is the name for Indian Innovation.
We should also ponder over the areas that our Innovation should focus upon. While a majority of our innovators go after technology related ideas, it is heartening to know that at least a few are leveraging the use of technology for innovation related to traditional areas like agriculture, dairying etc. We also see electronic marketing creating a hassle-free market for agricultural produce, thereby helping farmers to get fair prices. In fact, some of our Agricultural universities have begun to encourage Agri-preneurs by helping them with managerial and marketing skills required to run an agri-business. The fact that many students are inclined to enroll in the business incubation facilities in their campuses, is a sign of great optimism. I hope to see many young graduates coming forward to offer technology-driven solutions for social needs like sustainable development, waste disposal, renewable energy etc especially in the rural areas of our country.
I feel that a word or two about the role of teachers would not be out of place during this Convocation. As we all know, the foundation of education should be built on the solid base of dedication. Intimacy and involvement in the process of education is expected of every teacher.
In fact, the role of the teacher has changed to that of a facilitator in this era of technology. Everyone has access to knowledge and the source of knowledge need not always be the teacher or the text-books alone. The teacher's role, therefore, should be in guiding the students in using the available knowledge in a judicious, ethical and socially relevant manner. The aim of the teacher should be to ignite thinking and to ensure that the knowledge that is imparted manifests in noble actions that serve society in a meaningful way.
On the day of this Convocation, I would request each one of you to make good use of the qualification that you have earned in such a way that it helps to improve life in society. I also appeal to you not to discontinue your studies, because being a life-long learner is the first step towards success in today's fast changing world.
I once again congratulate all of you on the success that you have achieved and wish you greater laurels in the years to come.
I also compliment everyone at the Regional Centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University for conducting this function in the most befitting manner.
Ellaavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
