President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said the emphasis on the value of education had a direct impact on social development indices and on the economy in Tamil Nadu.
Delivering the 160th convocation address of the Madras University, he said it had both benefited from and contributed to a tradition of scholarship that was central to Tamil Nadu’s identity.
The State had a proud culture of research and innovation — whether in the pure sciences or in medicine streams — and in engineering and manufacturing.
“It has a well-regarded IT sector and a growing digital economy. These are complemented by excellence in the humanities. It is no surprise that the Tamil language is among the most ancient in the world. Centuries before many others, it was exploring literature and philosophy of learning,” Mr. Kovind said.
Paying rich tribute to the university, referred to sometimes as the Mother of Universities, he said from the middle of the 19th century, the University of Madras had been a cornerstone of our nation building project.
No other university in India could make the claim that six former Presidents — Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, R. Venkataraman, K.R. Narayanan and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — were its students.
Vice-Chancellor P. Duraisamy said 582 graduands (2 D.litt., 410 Ph.Ds. and 170 rank holders, prize and medal winners) received degrees in person and 77,350 in absentia.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit presided over the function. Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbazhagan participated.
