42 girls bag gold medalsat 17th NOU convocation
Patna
: Altogether 42 girls of the total 53 toppers of the
postgraduate examinations
of two batches (2023 and 2024) of
Nalanda Open University
(NOU) bagged
gold medals
at its
17th convocation
held at Bapu Sabhagar of Samrat Ashok Convention Centre here on Tuesday. More than 4,000 scholars who passed examinations of undergraduate and postgraduate courses were conferred with their degrees at the convocation.
Lauding the grand performance of girls in the examinations, governor Arif Mohammed Khan said that the results indicate that a wind of social change has started blowing and the women of the state are getting empowered. "This is indeed a matter of pride not only for Bihar but for the entire country. India will become a superpower with the empowerment of its women," he said.
Khan, in his presidential remarks, said convocation is not the end of education but the beginning of a journey of the successful phase of educated life. He called upon the scholars to utilise their talent and capacity in the all-round development of their nation. "They should not only hanker after jobs and pleasures of lives but also work for the uplift of the marginalized sections of the society. They owe a great deal to the society for their personal development and, hence, they should strive hard to repay the society's debt by serving the people in the best possible manner," he said.
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)'s former vice-chancellor Nageshwar Rao, who was the chief guest on the occasion, delivered the convocation address. He congratulated the degree recipients for their hard labour and appealed to them to utilise their knowledge in ensuring the development of a healthy society. He said irrespective of the mode of imparting education, the ultimate goal of education remains the same, i.e., to produce a good human being, a responsible citizen and a competent professional. "Education is relevant only when it can serve the needs of the changing society," he said.
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He lauded the all-round development of NOU since its inception. Its study materials were quite up to the mark and the academic sessions were also regular. He appreciated that the university has been charging 25% less fees from the girl students.
He called upon the teachers and students to develop their faculty of independent and logical thinking and utilise their knowledge in social reconstruction.
NOU vice-chancellor Ravindra Kumar, in his report, said that even though the university has not received any grant from the govt since its inception, it has been imparting quality education to the youths at the minimum cost. "The university proposes to create five new computer labs, smart classes and studios with the funds received under the PM-USHA scheme," he said.
Governor's principal secretary R L Chongthu, Bihar State University Service Commission's chairman Girish Kumar Chaudhry, NOU's former VC R K Sinha and NOU's registrar Samir Kumar Sharma also graced the occasion.
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Time of India
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an hour ago
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