Stating that technological advancement alone could not help in the country’s growth, G. Valli, Vice-Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, said commitment of the people to follow ethical practices and contribute to societal growth were also necessary.
Speaking at the 30th convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here on Thursday, she said the country faced several problems despite technological development and they could be solved only with the committed contribution of young graduates.
She said the youngsters-led protests for the conduct of jallikattu earlier this year, which happened in a disciplined manner, had shown the increased interest among the youth to take active participation in tackling societal problems.
Pointing to the overwhelming number of women graduates at the convocation, Ms. Valli lauded IGNOU for its crucial role in taking education to all through novel approaches like technology-enabled learning.
M. Shanmugam, Senior Regional Director, IGNOU Regional Centre, Madurai, presented a report detailing significant achievements of the centre.
He said IGNOU’s initiative to provide free education to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities and assist them in getting employment would be taken forward in a big way in the coming year.
He added that IGNOU was also looking at revival of schemes initiated earlier with Tamil Nadu government, like running IGNOU information centres in Government Higher Secondary Schools and providing digital literacy to school children.
A total of 4,382 candidates were awarded degrees and diplomas by the Madurai Regional Centre of IGNOU at the convocation. A total of 574 candidates received the certificates in person and the remaining candidates in absentia.
