“It is a matter of concern that advanced medical technology is not accessible to the poor and rural population,’’ Minister for Higher Education, IT, BT, Science and technology C.N. Ashwath Narayan said in Belagavi on Wednesday.
“Unprecedented quality of tertiary health care is being made possible by regular advancement in medical. It is making early and definitive diagnosis of diseases and specific cures possible,” he said.
“Though such technology is advancing swiftly across the world, but it is beyond the reach of the common man,’’ he added.
“It is our responsibility to find ways and means to make technology available, accessible and affordable to the needy even in the remotest areas,’’ the Minister said.
He was address a gathering at the 12th Convocation of KLE Academy of Higher Education & Research (KAHER) at the KLE Convention Centre.
“Knowledge should be built on time-tested principles of five core universal values: Truth (Satya), righteous conduct (Dharma), peace (Shanti), love (Prem) and non-violence (Ahimsa), which represent the five facets of human personalities — intellectual, physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. They also represent the five major objectives of education: knowledge, skill, balance, vision and identity,’’ he said.
He reiterated that Karnataka was the first State to implement the National Education Policy NEP-2020 in the academic year 2021-22. “This step will re-energise and strengthen the entire gamut of higher education system which will usher in equity, gender equality and inclusive growth of every section of society. The impact of NEP will be so evident in the coming years that the State will produce intellectuals, business leaders, entrepreneurs and literary figures of the highest order,’’ he said.
The Minister paid glowing tributes to the seven teachers who founded KLE Society over a century ago, calling them as “Saptarishis”. “Their selfless sacrifices a century ago has ensured high quality, affordable education to students of this part of the State,’’ he said.
KLE Society under the dynamic leadership of KAHER Chancellor Prabhakar Kore has undergone rapid metamorphosis in the last 36 years. It has bloomed and blossomed from 44 institutions then to more than 290 Institutions and a majority of them are in rural areas of North Karnataka which is a significant factor, he said.
He congratulated Dr. Prabhakar Kore for having been conferred with a honorary doctorate of Science degree by Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, U.S., the second oldest university and one of the prestigious ones in the U.S., in recognition of his outstanding contribution to education and health care in this part of the country. He is the first Indian to get the honorary degree from this university.
KAHER has signed a collaborative pact with U.S. universities for faculty and student exchange programmes to strengthen teaching and learning, Vice-Chancellor Vivek Saoji said.
Over 6,500 students are studying in KAHER and over half of them are girls, he said.
Even in results, girls surpass boys. During the KAHER Convocation, out of the 1,504 passing graduates, 947 were girls and 557 boys. As many as 22 gold medals out of the 30 were bagged by girls, he said.
The students are exposed to hi-tech simulation models, tech-based human cadaver anatomy placed at JN Medical College which have made the learning process real time and students favour learning on these models.
Surgeons have conducted six heart transplants, three of them in July, for a record achievement in the history of the State, Dr. Saoji said.
