President Ramnath Kovind on Friday said that the actual purpose of education should be to produce good human beings, who would go on to make the society a better place for everyone. A good human being, he said, will become a good teacher, a good doctor, and even a good politician.

Addressing the maiden Convocation ceremony of Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ) at its permanent campus in Kanke, Kovind said that the need of the hour was to understand the most important purpose of education – to create noble human beings. “Education not only decides your profession but also life in general.

A good human being will also become a good son, a good husband and a good father.

Similarly, a good human being will also become a good daughter, a good wife, a responsible mother and a great daughter-in-law,” he said.

Established in 2009, CUJ operated out of a temporary campus in Brambe for more than a decade before getting a permanent campus. The university will move to its permanent campus this year. By now, as many as 2263 students have passed from the university, the Vice Chancellor of CUJ Nand Kishore Yadav Indu said on Friday. At present, as many as 2261 students are pursuing various courses in the university and around 50 per cent of them were women, he added.

“I appreciate the fact that despite all the road blocks, the university has finally got a permanent campus. Even if a train is running late, once it catches its optimum speed, we can expect it to reach all the stations on time,” Kovind said, reacting to the history of hurdles faced by CUJ in getting a permanent campus in Ranchi. “After so many years, the university is holding its first convocation ceremony, and this deserves appreciation,” he added.

As many as 639 students from different disciplines attended the Convocation ceremony on Friday in presence of the President of India, Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu and CUJ Vice Chancellor. Kovind conferred certificates to at least 16 gold medalists on Friday, and appreciated the growing dominance of women in academic excellence. “The university has by now produced 96 gold medalists, and 64 of them are girls. Only 32 are boys. We have a ration of 1:2 here, which is incredible,” he said.

Kovind on Friday stressed on the importance of social work by students and universities. He reiterated that on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) universities should start University Social Responsibility (USR). Under USR, he said, students and institutions should spread awareness among residents of neighbouring villages, impart education to them and eradicate social evils. “I am glad to know that CUJ has adopted five villages as a part of its social responsibility,” he said.

Talking about women empowerment, the President said that the Government of India is planning to come up with schemes to encourage more participation of girls in the field of science and technology. “The fact that girls dominate in the list of gold medalists in almost all the universities paints a golden picture of the country. Women have to face more obstacles and despite this they are doing well in academics. This is commendable,” he said. However, girls lag behind in the field of science and technology, and to address this, the Government is coming up with new schemes, he added.