Sixth Graduation Day at Yuvaraja’s College

Mysuru: “Science is in our DNA as our country has a tradition of science for eons. Kanaada’s Vaisheshika, which propounded the atomic theory thousands of years ago and Kapila’s Sankhya which enumerates components of both animate and inanimate universe are among the treatises on scientific philosophy,” said Prof. K.J. Rao, Emeritus Professor, Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru.

He was delivering the Sixth Graduation Day address at the Yuvaraja’s College Platinum Jubilee Auditorium, here yesterday and said that more people in India talk about Nobel Awards than in the western countries he had visited.

Talking about the rapidly changing world, Prof. Rao said, “We are 7.4 billion humans on this planet and slightly less than a fifth of them — 1.35 billion — live in our country alone. The huge population has given rise to new challenges for our country. We are only 74 per cent literate.”

Dwelling on the statistics of Universities in the country and the number of graduates that come out, he said, “According to All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report for the year 2017-18, we have 903 Universities in the country. Of those, 343 Universities are privately managed. There are 39,050 Colleges and 10,011 stand alone institutions catering to higher education.”

Further he said, “Total enrolment in higher education is a staggering 3.66 crore (1.92 crore boys.) Those registered for B.Sc degree numbered 51 lakh. 11.52 lakh students were awarded B.Sc degrees in 2017. Among those registered for Science Ph.D were the largest. Total number of Ph.Ds awarded in 2017 was 34,400. Ph.D degrees were awarded to 8,880 students in Science. In Karnataka alone, 3,663 students were awarded Ph.D degrees in various disciplines in 2017.”

Pointing to the intimidating number of graduates and Ph.Ds, he wondered, how the country will engage these graduates and asked whether there were opportunities for all of them.

“Unfortunately governments anywhere in the world make no commitment to provide suitable jobs to those whom they have awarded degrees through their Universities. Hence, you have to take up a career which you like, but carry on with it with intense dedication and become top performers in your chosen careers,” he advised.

Earlier, University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar conferred degrees to 706 students out of whom 415 were in B.Sc. Chaitra Narayan Hegde bagged the gold medal and several cash prizes in B.Sc.

The Gold medal winners in M.Sc., and MA included V. Ramya in M.Sc., Physics, Sydnemath in M.Sc., Chemistry, M. Prerana in M.Sc., Molecular Biology, R.S. Babita in MA English, B.N. Rashmitha in M.Sc., Mathematics among others. Yuvaraja’s College Principal Dr. M. Rudraiah and Controller of Examinations Dr. H.B. Mahesha were present.