Graduates are architects of Viksit Bharat: Vice President
Describing graduates as architects of the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan on Saturday said universities must drive research and innovation that are rooted in Indian realities and yet are globally competitive.
Addressing the 102nd convocation of Delhi University (DU) here, the vice president noted the growing enrolment of women in higher education and said more than 70 per cent of the gold medallists this year were women.
More than 1.2 lakh students were conferred with degrees at the convocation ceremony, where Radhakrishnan was the chief guest. The vice president released digital degrees of 1.2 lakh students by the click of a button. The ceremony was presided over by DU Vice-Chancellor (V-C) Yogesh Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Singh described the occasion as a moment of pride for the university, noting that despite disruptions such as World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic over the years, the university has held its convocation every year.
“The institution has managed to hold its annual convocation every year, which is a symbol of the university’s academic commitment,” Singh said.
Radhakrishnan said the DU started with three colleges, two faculties, eight departments and 750 students. “Today, the university has grown to 16 faculties, 86 departments, 90 colleges, 20 halls and hostels, over 30 centres and institutes, 34 libraries and more than 6 lakh students,” he said.
On the cut-throat competition for admissions to the university, the vice president said Singh informed him that seats are filled without any delay and cut-offs touch 98 per cent. Though DU is already among India’s distinguished institutions, it should aim for higher global rankings, Radhakrishnan said.
“In the next two years, we should move into the top 300, then 200, then 100 and ultimately become the number one university in the world,” he said, adding that students worldwide should aspire to come to Delhi.
Giving a detailed breakdown, the VC said 50,780 degrees are being awarded to regular students — 24,748 to men and 26,032 to women. Including the 5,008 students from the Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) and 64,620 from the School of Open Learning (SOL), the total number of degrees being conferred stands at 1,20,408. Of these, 59,435 are male students and 60,973 female students.
“The university is also awarding 734 PhD degrees — 385 to women and 349 to men. The highest number of doctorates is from the Faculty of Arts (236), followed by Science (139) and Social Sciences (119),” Singh said.
He added that the university secured an A++ grade with a CGPA of 3.55 in the second cycle of NAAC accreditation, calling it the highest possible grade and a reflection of the collective efforts of faculty, students, staff and alumni.
