The 5th convocation of the Nagaland University Lumami was held on 17th March 2022 with Governor of Assam and Nagaland and Chief Rector of Nagaland University, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, as the chief guest at University Auditorium (I Ihoshe Kinimi Hall) Nagaland University, Lumami.
Delivering his convocation address, the Governor said that it was his honour to address the 5th convocation of Nagaland University which was created in 1994 to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Nagaland and its youth, in particular in the realm of higher education, both teaching and research. He was also humbled to learn that some great minds of our great country like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Pranab Mukherjee have addressed the university convocations in the past and he was privileged to have the opportunity himself.
Prof. Mukhi said that university convocation is an occasion as well as an opportunity for the graduates and research scholars to receive their degrees and certificates that they have earned by putting in hard work with unflinching determination, toils and tears. He also said that it is an occasion to introspect and ponder over the utility of such degrees and certificates for meeting the challenges of the outside world and for grabbing the existing opportunities for bettering their lives and of those around. He asked them if they have acquired out-of-box thinking ability to successfully deal with the contemporary challenges being faced by humanity today. He advised the gathering not to go after those who are not on the right path, even if they are in large number but to learn to walk alone, if they think and feel it will take them to the right destination.
The Governor stated that there was a time when India was the knowledge guru as well as the spiritual guru of the world. People from every part of the world used to come to India to learn astronomy, astrology, metaphysics, mathematics, ayurveda, yoga and spirituality, but now the youth are going outside in search of knowledge. He urged that it is time to introspect as to why there are no seats of learning like Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshila today as there were during the ancient days.
The Governor appreciated the people of Nagaland for protecting and preserving their traditional knowledge and value systems in forms of their tribal languages, folk dance, food and food habits, arts and artifacts etc. He said that it is the responsibility of Nagaland University to create enabling ecology through relevant centers of knowledge to promote and preserve the ancient wisdom of Naga people. The success of the Nagaland University and the relevance of its teaching community in particular will be judged by the future generation based on its ability to solve the contemporary socio-political and economic and developmental challenges, he added. Prof. Mukhi also stated the people of Nagaland are having great expectation from the intellectual class of the University for solving the ongoing imbroglio for achieving and establishing sustainable peace and durable socio-political order for peaceful, prosperous and stable Nagaland.
Prof. Mukhi said that it was very unfortunate that many students with their degrees from universities are willing to join only the government sector, even on contractual basis. He encouraged them to look for ways to be innovative and start working avenues for them. He also urged that they should to become job creators rather than job seekers and improve the entrepreneurial landscape of our state.
The Governor congratulated Nagaland University, its teachers, officials and students for meeting the requirements of the academic calendar as per the UGC requirement despite the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic and other structural impediments. He was also delighted to learn that the University is fully prepared and whole heartedly geared up for implementing the New Education Policy, 2020 from the forthcoming academic session, 2022-2023. He expressed hoped, the New Education Policy, if implemented successfully, would bridge the gap between job seekers and job givers and would be able to create a pool of young minds empowered with the elements of innovation, creativity and desired skills to meet the national as well as the global standards.
Total number of candidates who received Gold medals in person was 111 and total number of candidates recieving degree certificate in person was 194.
Earlier, Dr Abemo, Registrar declared the convocation welcome address while report of university was given by Vice Chancellor, Prof Pardeshi Lal.
(Avika Awomi, IA Zunheboto)
