Develop independent thinking and scientific temper for success, Education Minister Adimalapu Suresh advised the students of Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Anantapur (JNTU - A), who received gold medals and degrees at the 11th convocation on the university campus here on Saturday.
“Employment opportunities are innumerable, but the students need to ramp up their skills to fit into the job requirements. Having a B.Tech or M.Tech degree is not enough. Follow the mantra of imbibing independent thinking,” the Minister said while delivering the convocation address.
He also recalled the ‘Big Day’ at the convocation when he received his degree from the same university in 2010.
Uniform curriculum
The government focussed on five aspects of education – Uniformity, Quality, Accountability, Affordability, and Accessibility.
“As part of it, a uniform curriculum has been designed for all the courses. To ensure that no poor student is left out of higher education, the government has come up with Jagananna Vidya Deevena under which the entire fee is reimbursed,” Mr. Suresh said.
“The enrolment in higher education is lower than the national average of 26.2%, and this needs to be improved,” he opined. For improving education quality, five universities had been identified to encourage research, and JUNTU-A was one among them, he said.
University Vice-Chancellor G. Ranga Janardhan presented honorary doctorate to former Union Public Service Commission member and JNTU-Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Y. Venkatarami Reddy.
‘Internship a must’
In his online address, All India Council for Technical Education Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe stressed the need for diligently taking up the six-month internship programme in industry for improving employability. The AICTE website was working like a match-making site to provide 2.5 lakh internships per year, he said, and asked the lecturers to not only teach within the four walls but also make efforts to motivate the students to be a part of the projects outside the college. He asked the students to acquire additional skills by voluntarily learning additional courses from among the 200 available on the AICTE website.
Governor and Chancellor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, in his address via a video link, asked the students to work on sustainable models of development by giving stress on conservation of natural resources.
None other than the 69 students who were awarded gold medals and other awards were allowed into the convocation Hall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
