21 Jul 2012 09:24:46 IST
, The Hindu
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Be optimistic about our country, IIT-ians told
Engineering Entrance
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Engineering Entrance (PG)
IIT-ians could go abroad for higher studies but should remember to come back not just because India needs them but as they would realise later in life that this country, no matter how badly governed, was the country of the future, said Fali S. Nariman, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India.
Delivering the 49 convocation at Indian Institute of Technology - Madras on Friday, Mr. Nariman asked the IITians not be disheartened about quotas and reservations in education. Affirmative action in education was what the country needed, and not mere quotas, he said using a quote by an America’s youngest college president Anthony Marx who emphasised the need for higher education to be an equaliser.
“Remember that prosperity we see around us is all skin-deep,” Mr. Nariman said, adding that the rich in the country definitely appeared to be getting richer but the poor still remained mired in abject poverty, shut out from education and job opportunities because of globalisation or despite globalisation. Stating that he was never too optimistic about the governments, both Centre and State, he asked students to be optimistic about the future of the country and not to despair. “The country is to us – and will always be – greater than all the governments we have had – or will ever have,” he said.
IIT-M Board of Governors Chairman Prof M.M. Sharma said scientists and engineers had a crucial role to play in the whole range of economic activities as growth was directly connected to innovations. IIT-M had admitted close to 400 students in Ph.Ds recently, with a high percentage from engineering.
IIT-M Director Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi said a total of 1,679 degrees — 141 Ph.D; 127 M.S; 467 M.Tech; 69 MBA; 29 M.A; 123 M.Sc; 225 Dual Degree (B.Tech and M.Tech) and 273 B.Tech and the first batch of nine PG Diplomas in Metro Rail Technology and Management — were awarded at the convocation.
Vriti Edustore
