Increasing Gross Enrolment Ratio is need of the hour, says UGC chairman Prof. DP Singh

A Correspondent

Tezpur: Tezpur University organized the XVII Convocation on Monday at Kalaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha auditorium of the university with a total of 1,275 students being conferred upon Degrees and Diplomas. Amongst them, 82 were awarded PhDs, 749 were Masters, 402 were Under Graduates (B.Tech/B.Sc/BA), 42 were Diplomas and PG Diplomas.

Prof. DP Singh, chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), and former Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bengaluru was the chief guest, while the Governor of Assam, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi presided over the convocation as the Chancellor of the University.

In his convocation address, Prof. Singh discussed the need for increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from existing 27 percent across India. GER is a statistical measure used in the education sector, and formerly by the UN in its Education Index, to determine the number of students enrolled in school at several different grade levels. He added that the Government of India was aspiring to increase the GER further, which would require consolidation and expansion of the existing institutions and establishment of new ones. However, while implementing the same he cautioned that the institutions needed to be extra careful not to compromise on the quality of higher education during this phase of transition.

Speaking on the occasion, the Governor mentioned that higher education had made a significant contribution to economic development, social progress and political stability in independent India. “The success of a university depends on the quality of students produced and the quality of research and development works performed by the faculty members,” he said. Prof. Mukhi pointed out that the university, which was born out of the historic Assam Accord, was creating and disseminating knowledge and skills in some core as well as frontier areas of education, developing a reservoir of youth power so that they could effectively participate in nation-building.

In his address, Prof Vinod Kumar Jain, Vice-Chancellor of the University, congratulated all the graduating students, their parents, and guardians along with their teachers whose support and guidance helped them achieving this important feat. Prof Jain then briefly highlighted recent achievements of the university and requested all to continue the same hard work, dedication, and sincerity which had yielded good results for the university.

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