National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Director S.C. Sharma on Tuesday said the National Education Policy (NEP) is the country’s pride since it promotes better accessibility and greater quality of education. The NEP, driven by modern science and technology, has revived knowledge traditions. The social impact of the NEP is that it has the ability to sustain democratic values and promotes the spirit of nationhood amongst the students.
In his address at the 102 nd annual convocation of University of Mysore at the iconic Crawford Hall here, Mr. Sharma said the uniqueness of the NEP is its commitment to conserving empathy, pluralism, equality and fraternity among the citizens which are the constitutional values. “It is the cultural fabric that knits us strongly since art, literature, music and cuisine are the outcome of our culture.”
Arguing that the NEP’s main motto is to impart training and support value-based education, he said the NEP helps to attain a true sense of human character and acquire intellectual balance from the background of culture. The policy shapes characters and careers, he observed.
“Any revolutionary change could be manifested only with the combination of enthusiasm of youth and maturity of wisdom. The rational and philosophical aspects are the two major factors which makes NEP more relevant and practical. From the beginning, it gives impetus for critical thinking and analysis in education which is the inner spirit of NEP,” the NAAC director explained.
Claiming that NEP supports creative learning, Mr. Sharma said learning to think creatively will make a great difference in one’s personal and professional life. These capacity building qualities will increase confidence, deepen understanding, and broaden one’s perception by enriching intellectual and emotional wellbeing which helps in potential accomplishments in future.
Another important aspect of NEP is its adaptability towards practicability. Even in ancient gurukulas emphasis was laid on students getting practical exposure for hands and the mind, he added.
Showering heaps of praise on the century-old University of Mysore, Mr. Sharma said the university has played a crucial role in promoting national integration on rational lines. It has given great importance to research activities, inspiring vibrant intellectual feats and fulfilling the aspirations of the nation.
Earlier, Governor and Chancellor Thaawarchand Gehlot declared the convocation open. He conferred honorary doctorate on actor Puneeth Rajkumar posthumously. Eminent defence scientist V.K. Aatre and folk artist M Malavalli Mahadevaswamy received the honoris causa degrees from the Governor.
Vice-Chancellor G. Hemantha Kumar welcomed the guests. Registrar R. Shivappa and Registrar (Evaluation) A.P. Gnana Prakash were present.
Out of 28,581 candidates who were conferred with the degrees, 18,567 candidates – 64.96 percent - were women.
Bhavana G.M. is the top medallist with 19 gold medals and two cash prizes in MSc Chemistry. P. Mahadevaswamy secured 14 gold medals and 3 cash prizes in MA Kannada. Both aspire to crack the civil services examination. In total, 376 gold medals and 214 cash prizes were shared by 213 candidates, including 158 women.
As many as 157 candidates, including 49 women and 108 men, received doctoral degrees. A total of 5,677 candidates were conferred with Master’s degrees with 3,740 of them – 65.87 percent – being women. A total of 22,747 candidates were awarded with bachelor’s degrees.
