New Delhi: The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar today lauded the Governor of Tamil Nadu at Vice-Chancellors conference saying, “The Hon’ble Governor is doing this conference because it is his constitutional ordainment. He has taken oath under the Indian Constitution under Article 159. His oath, as that of the Hon’ble President, is very significant. The oath he has taken as Governor is to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the law. By his oath, he is further enjoined to devote to the service and well-being of people of Tamil Nadu. By organizing such events, which are extremely relevant to the field of education, Governor Ravi is vindicating his oath. I must commend him for this very thoughtful initiative taken by him in 2022 to have conference of Vice-Chancellors. The present one is one in such series.”
Addressing the gathering as Chief Guest at the Inaugural Session of the Conference of Vice-Chancellors of State, Central and Private Universities of Tamil Nadu in Udhagamandalam today, Shri Dhankhar said, “At the heart of India’s great institutions in the past, we had visionary leaders, what we call modern Vice-Chancellors. The Vice-Chancellors of today are enormously talented. They are no less visionaries. They are giving everything which they can. They might face a big task, difficult terrain or air pockets, but I believe in their power to transform. They are worthy academicians who have capacity to bring about result. They represent and epitomize the ‘Kulapatis’ we had once. I urge everyone in governance at the Center and at the state level to believe in the institution of Vice Chancellor and ensure they have played the joints and can perform undeterred by ordinary situations.”
He further underscored the importance of changing academic landscape saying, “Today, not only Bharat but the entire world is faced with formidable challenges, rapid technological disruption. It is far more severe than industrial revolutions we had. A paradigm shift is taking place every moment. It is difficult to keep pace. The global order, on this count, is becoming increasingly complex. Every facet of life is being affected and it is therefore, in the lap of universities ably led on the front foot by Vice-Chancellors, to act as the stewards of India’s academic landscape. More the challenges, more the formidability of challenges, we must rise as impregnable, not only to overcome them, but to deliver results for the nation and the world. One challenge which the vice-chancellors must be facing is faculty. Faculty availability, faculty retention, and sometimes faculty addition. I would appeal to all of you to engage in sharing with one another. Use technology, don’t be an island in yourselves. It is not a time to be standalone because this challenge has to be fixed. We have no time.”
Shri Dhankhar expressed deep sorrow over the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, saying, “Today I join the Nation in expressing profound grief and outrage at the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed innocent lives. It is a grim reminder that terrorism is a global menace to be addressed by humanity in unison. Bharat is the world’s most peace-loving nation and our civilisational ethos reflects Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”
He further added, “Our visionary leadership in the shape of the Prime Minister who is in his third term is our greatest assurance that the nation’s rise cannot be handicapped by any situation internal or external. But we all have to bear in mind that national interest is supreme. This was echoed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while imparting his final address to the Constituent Assembly. We therefore have to take a resolve to always keep nation first, national interests cannot be intertwined with partisan interest, it has to be uppermost. This cannot be subservient to any interest political, personal or for a group.”
Touching upon the transformative National Education Policy, the Vice-President said, “After three decades, taking into consideration inputs from the widest spectrum of stakeholders, there was the evolution of the National Education Policy. This policy aligns with our civilization ethos. It encourages multidisciplinary learning. It gives priority to Indian languages. It envisions education as the development of the person, not just employability.”
He further stated, “The most significant aspect of the National Education Policy is that it allows students to learn in their mother tongue. It has got us out of the colonial regime. Even medicine and engineering in local languages, which could not be entertained at one point of time, even in dreams, It is getting shape on the ground.”
Calling upon institutions to study and adopt the policy in full spirit, he urged, “I beseech you all and the faculty and directors wherever they are to please do a thorough study of National Education Policy to realise its real intent and purpose so that we reap the harvest of it. From this platform, I wish to indicate National Education Policy is a government policy. It is a policy for the nation. And therefore I appeal, it is time for us all to adopt it, understand it, execute it, and to reap the fruits.”
He further emphasized that the future of Indian higher education lies in moving beyond traditional silos, “We are well past the era of standalone institutions. It can’t be just IIMs, IITs etc. Standalone era for institutions is already behind us. There is now need of convergence for various verticals to give institutions cutting edge. Multi-disciplinary approach across academic pursuits is the only answer. Share your faculty talent virtually, technologically and otherwise also. That will have twofold purpose. While giving it, you will be receiving also. The winds of innovation and change must have free passage in educational institutions. Evolve a mechanism. There must be tolerance for varying ideas. Intolerance to a thought defines democracy the wrong way. The nectar of university is that a solo voice that has an opinion different than that of the majority is heard with deference by engaging in dialogue and discourse, not by being judgmental.”
Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s historical role in India’s academic evolution, the Vice-President said, “Tamil Nadu is a land of vibrant learning centers, those learning centers must be our North Star now. Tamil Nadu has been home to such widely accoladed learning centers like Kanchipuram and Ennayiram. Ennayiram attracted thousands of students from all over Bharat. I see in these conferences emergence of crucibles of ideation that will rekindle the spirit of Kanchipuram and bring back glory of Ennayiram. We must take pride that it was in Tamil Nadu, Madras University was established in 1857. Modern education was exemplified in this land.”
He concluded with a stirring reflection on India’s rich linguistic heritage, especially Tamil’s historic recognition, saying, “Our languages, their richness and depth are our pride and legacy. This aspect amplifies the fullness and uniqueness of our culture. Go to any country, and you will not find what we have here. Our treasure is unfathomable. Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Bangla, and other languages are a goldmine of literature and knowledge. These have national and global footprints. Educational institutions have to nurture with deep focus this treasure.”
He further said that “What a pride for Tamil Nadu and the entire country. The Tamil had the distinction of being the first language to be accorded the prestige of being a classical language. This well-deserved recognition was imparted in 2004, which means things started changing in regimes. Today, there are 11 languages that are classical languages and Classical languages are those that have rich culture, knowledge, literature, depth. Let me just indicate the 11 languages because I had the occasion, as Chairman, Rajya Sabha, to declare to the Rajya Sabha that Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali were recently given the status of classical languages, but earlier we had, as I said Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia. Go all over the world, we are matchless. We have to realise our power, our potential. We should not be carried away by insignificant aspects.”
Shri R.N. Ravi, Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri R. Kirlosh Kumar, Principal Secretary to Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr. N. Chandrasekar, Vice Chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tamil Nadu
