Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called upon youngsters to be flexible and adaptable to the changing nature of jobs. Delivering the centenary convocation address of the University of Mysore (UoM) virtually, he emphasised the importance of “skilling, reskilling and upskilling” in the modern-day world and how the National Education Policy (NEP) unveiled by his government recently paid attention to this aspect.
The NEP, Mr. Modi said, ensures a multi-dimensional approach towards education and will bring about fundamental changes in the field of education and make youngsters more competitive.
He called upon the student community to strive for excellence based on their individual strength and ability, but advised them against restricting themselves to fitting into a box. “Probably, the box in which you are trying to fit yourself into may not have been made for you,” he said.
“Take time out for yourself, introspect, understand your strengths... This will help you choose your future path,” he said. He sought to draw the attention of students to the startups floated by youngsters during COVID-19 times and said startups were the strength of the country. “Your progress is also the country’s progress. If you become self-reliant, so will the country.”
Saying that it was heartening to note the University of Mysore’s plans to start multi-disciplinary programmes as envisaged under the NEP, the Prime Minister said students can simultaneously study “global technology” and “local culture” under these programmes.
He said it was incumbent upon UoM, one of the top educational institutions, to innovate. The university should start more incubation and technology development centres, besides ensuring industry-academy linkage while focusing more on inter-disciplinary research, he said.
Earlier, UoM Vice-Chancellor G. Hemanth Kumar welcomed Mr. Modi from Crawford Hall in Mysuru, where the centenary convocation was organised amid COVID-19 restrictions.
Governor Vajubhai Vala, who was at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru, presided over the ceremony virtually. Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Higher Education C.N. Ashwath Narayan gave away the gold medals, cash prizes and certificates to the students before the Prime Minister’s address.