Governments should spend more on education of women, says VIT Chancellor

International Women’s Day celebrations held in the Vellore campus of the institute on Thursday

Chancellor G. Viswanathan handing over a certificate to a participant who completed the Jackfruit Value Addition Training Programme on Thursday. Photo: Special arrangement

Chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) G. Viswanathan urged the Central and State governments to spend more for the education of women. A woman autodriver from Vellore was honoured and women from self-help groups (SHGs) who completed the Jackfruit Value Addition Training Programme from VIT were given certificates during the International Women’s Day celebrations held in the campus on Thursday.

Delivering his presidential address, Mr. Viswanathan said women make up 49% of the population in India but they constitute only 27% of the workforce in the country.

“This is because not many women get access to higher education. We need to provide education to more girls to change this scenario. About 50% of women in foreign countries are working in various jobs,” he said.

Mr. Viswanathan reminded that the Women’s Reservation Bill is pending in Parliament for the past 24 years and the bill which was also passed in Rajya Sabha in 2010 was still pending.

“I request all political parties to come together in the empowerment of women and make this an Act in this session of the Parliament itself,” he added.

“We started Universal Higher Education Trust (UHET) eight years ago to help students from poor economic backgrounds in Vellore district to pursue higher education. As part of UHET, we have also been helping girl students as education will empower and uplift them. So far about 6,000 students have been benefited by this initiative. The education that you provide a girl will help her through life,” Mr. Viswanathan said. Programme Director of Doordarshan, Puducherry, Andal Priyadarshini, was the chief guest and she spoke about issues and hardships faced by women in the society. “We need to make International Women’s Day a meaningful occasion and not just a day for celebration. Only education will help a woman in her life as it will empower and provide support all through her life. Women should remember the reasons and sacrifices various women have made due to which International Women’s Day is celebrated across the globe,” she said.

‘Better multitaskers’

An eminent Advocate in Madras High Court, C. Sangamithirai pointed out that women face lot of issues and hardships in their life. “Women are better at multitasking than men. Women assume different roles in life,” she said.

Listing out achievements of 11 women who have changed their life, including Indian sportswomen like eminent Boxing champion Mary Kom, India’s first woman fire fighter Harshini Kanhekar, VIT vice-president Sankar Viswanathan said students should get inspired by the achievers and should chase their dreams till they come true.

VIT assistant vice-president Kadhambari S. Viswanathan said in the last few decades we have made great strides in closing the gender gap.

“VIT has done a lot of social welfare programmes for women in need. We have conducted training camps for SHGs so that they can develop a sustainable business. VIT and our contractors have come up to build toilets for girls in schools in Vellore and other parts of the district,” she said.