Higher institutes must provide quality education: President

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 1

President Pranab Mukherjee today said it was the duty of institutions to instil in students a love for their motherland, a sense of responsibility towards society and compassion. He was addressing the first convocation of Swami Rama Himalayan University here.

He called upon doctors and nurses to serve patients with care and dedication. Pranab said the main focus of healthcare institutions should be the welfare of patients. 

He said mere expansion of higher educational institutions was not enough and they must provide quality education. “The research areas should be prioritised so as to solve specific socio-economic problems. The higher education system should produce sound professionals with a strong social sensitivity,” he said.

The President also congratulated the medical, nursing and management students who received degrees at the convocation. “This motto takes on even greater meaning when one witnesses that healing and healthcare system in our country must always stand on moral high grounds,” he said.

Remembering Swami Rama, Pranab said Swami Rama was a multi-faceted personality with great love for his motherland. “Though anointed as the Shankaracharya of Karvirpitham at a young age, he renounced this high spiritual post in order to pursue his yogic-meditative lifestyle. He established holistic health as a new discipline that had much to offer to allopathic medicine,” the President said. 

He stressed upon the importance of amalgamating the wisdom of the East with the modern technologies of the West. Pranab advised students not to be anxious about their future and learn to live in the present. He said old ideas and approaches that no longer serve any purpose should give way to better ideas.

“It is your creativity that can usher in change. So, proceed in the journey of life with an attitude to learn and an aptitude to think new,” he said.