Speech of Hon’ble Governor of UP Smt Anandhi Ben Patel at Avinashilingam University
This is the English translated version of the Speech of Hon’ble Governor of UP Smt Anandhi Ben Patel during her Keynote at the National Seminar organised by Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (Deemed University), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
It is a matter of immense pleasure for me to be present here at the seminar on ‘Best Practices of Avinashilingam NACC Institute Assessment Fostering Criteria’ organized under the aegis of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (Deemed University), Coimbatore.
Coimbatore, popular as ‘Manchester of South India’, is an industrial city. The pleasant weather here attracts tourists to visit throughout the year. I also went sightseeing yesterday on World Tourism Day. On receiving the invitation to attend the seminar by Professor S.P. Thyagarajan Ji, I was delighted and hence, gladly accepted the same.
Today is the birth anniversary of the immortal son of India Sardar Bhagat Singh. I bow before him in respect. We are fortunate to be living in an independent India because of such brave revolutionaries of the country.
I was told that the freedom fighter, philanthropist and Gandhian Padma Bhushan Dr TS Avinashilingam had laid the foundation for the higher education of women for the first time in Tamil Nadu by establishing Sri Avinashilingam Home Science College, which was inaugurated by the former President, Philosopher and great educationist Dr. Radhakrishnan on July 24, 1957.
Earlier, Dr. T.S. Avinashilingam donated three hundred acres of land in Coimbatore for the establishment of Ramakrishna Vidyalaya in order to educate students in line with the spirituality and principles of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Annai Sharadamani Devi and Swami Vivekananda. The foundation of these schools was laid in 1934 by Mahatma Gandhi. The schools inculcate values like self-reliance, self-restraint, patriotism, devotion and dedication in a practical way even today. The campus of this institute is spread over about three hundred acres of land. It is home to hundreds of species of birds including peacocks. The Swami Akhandanand Rural Development Scheme began in 2002 here. Under this scheme, tuition and health services are provided in Arivali Nagar and other rural areas.
Dr. T.S. Avinashilingam was dedicated to education, especially the education of women. On the occasion, I bow before such a great educationist of the country who played a significant role in ensuring the education of women which is extremely important for the country and the society.
In the twenty-first century, women have not only established their role in attaining economic empowerment, but have also transformed the nature of agents creating future organizations. In recent years, women have made unprecedented progress in every sphere of life. Overcoming the constraints of social ethics, they have proven themselves as successful entrepreneurs and working professionals both at home and at their workplaces.
The overall development of any nation is evaluated on the basis of the contribution of its education system, its education model as well as its teachers and students. The students are given knowledge acquired by the teachers over a period of time evaluating culture, heritage and tradition on the basis of history. This sparks curiosity and encourages innovation. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) evaluation guarantees quality of education. Just as the Constitution represents the spirit and emotion of the country, NAAC evaluation is necessary to improve the quality of the education system.
Friends, NAAC is an important effort to know the model of quality education. Therefore, all educational institutions should try to get NAAC done instead of wasting time over thinking about their lack of resources. This will improve the quality of education. The purpose of NAAC is only to enhance quality of education. Sometimes the parameter also keeps changing with time, due to which an institution gets ‘A grade’ then it gets ‘B grade’ and sometimes it gets ‘C grade’ too.
Friends, when I took over as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, at that time not a single university in Uttar Pradesh had a NAAC certification. I held frequent review meetings in all universities regarding quality education and making state universities world-class and for the preparations for NAAC evaluation. The Vice Chancellors were made to visit the highly rated universities of the country. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow organized workshops for NAAC preparations for universities, which yielded fruitful results. Today, the University of Lucknow and Madan Mohan Malviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur have got A-grades while the Chandrashekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology has got ‘B’ grade.
I believe that any institution has to be prepared for future challenges. We have to develop values for environmental consciousness, business consciousness, business ethics, gender equality, among other issues in our teaching-training. For this, the institute should have proper infrastructure for curricular, extra-curricular and administrative activities. It should also have a rich library facility with regular upgradation and well-equipped IT infrastructure. Besides, there should also be a conducive environment and facilities for proper performance of other social activities related to students including NSS. All such arrangements are available in Deemed Universities.
I am happy to note that Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (Deemed University), Coimbatore has secured the highest grade of ‘A’ from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in February 2012 (2022). I expect all higher education institutions to seek the guidance of Avinashiling Sansthan in institutionalizing their best practices. As we all know every new beginning brings an opportunity to realize its potential. The goals which were unimaginable at one time, today, the country is striving for them. There is a lot to learn, new innovations to be conducted, new goals to be achieved.
Along with this, I would also like to say that language, civilization, culture, social values have got due importance in the National Education Policy-2020. The vision of this policy is an opportunity to set new dimensions for Indian Universities. Higher educational institutions have been given the liberty to redefine their role in building a New India. By making the right use of freedom, the glorious history of Indian education can be revived and India can be established as a ‘Vishwaguru’. The nature of the National Education Policy is Indian. With the successful implementation of the policy, along with Indian knowledge, skills will be developed in the students according to Indian needs, which will create multi-talented youth and will awaken respect for the nation in them. The objective of this policy is that the best knowledge should reach the students belonging to every section.
I am sure that in order to establish quality standards in the field of higher education, there will be a comprehensive discussion in this seminar on all the parameters prescribed for NAAC evaluation. Certainly, this brainstorming will bring revolutionary results through various educational institutions. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council has always played an important role in assessing, enhancing and maintaining the quality of higher education in the country.
My gratitude to all.
Jai Hind!
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