President Pranab Mukherjee condemns intolerance in universities

Mumbai: There should be no room for intolerance and hatred in educational institutes, and it should accommodate multiple thoughts, said President Pranab Mukherjee at the special convocation ceremony at the Mumbai University campus. Mr Mukherjee further added that students must be integrated with good educational qualities and there should no space for narrow mindsets.

“A good education system is one that can help develop social responsiveness in students. Ways should be devised to integrate students’ engagement with society in the academic framework,” he said.

The president conferred honorary D. Litt. to India’s eminent agricultural scientist Dr M.S. Swaminathan. “I have known Dr Swaminathan as well as closely interacted with him on issues of national importance, on many occasions during the past five decades. His work brought about a sea change in the life of our nation. It is due to his pioneering efforts that our country transformed from its status of ship-to-mouth existence to one of the leading producers and exporters of food grains in the world,” Mr Mukherjee further added. He also said, “Growth of the economy depends on higher education. The quality of training provided to students employed by the economy determines the level of its competence. The induction of quality manpower is the first point of contact that the economy has with the higher education system. The graduates have to meet the skill-set requirements of the domestic economy. The course work in our campuses must be aligned to the needs of the industry.”