UGC chairman emphasises education in mother tongue at 18th St Xavier’s College convocation
KOLKATA: Prof Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), emphasised the need to promote Indian languages in higher education. Speaking at the 18th convocation and valedictory ceremony of the St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata on Thursday, he said research shows that students are more creative when taught in their mother tongue. He also pointed out how NEP 2020 prioritises skill-based education and learning in regional languages, questioning why Bengali cannot be used in higher education. At the same time, he acknowledged the importance of learning English as a communication tool. “We need to come out of this mindset that without English, learning cannot happen. In our Constitution, too, we recognise the linguistic diversity of our country. UGC is working with hundreds of universities and authors across the country to produce textbooks in 22 languages and Bengali is one of them,” he said. At the college campus on Thursday, 2,754 undergraduate, PG, BEd and PhD students were conferred with degrees. Also, 888 awards were given to various staff members for their roles in different capacities and 20 gold medals were given away to the toppers of various departments in the presence of Prof Kumar and Prof Santa Dutta (De), VC of the University of Calcutta. The ceremony was also graced by Rev Dr James Arjen Tete, Provincial of Calcutta Jesuit Province and Rev Dr. Dominic Savio, Principal, St. Xavier’s College.
The UGC chairman underscored the need to make education more democratic and accessible to underprivileged students and urged the youth to play an active role in nation-building. He praised the contributions of India’s young generation to key projects such as the Aditya L1 mission, the moon mission and their rising leadership in Fortune 500 companies, both in India and abroad. He also shared his happiness over the growing enrolment of female students in STEM education. In his annual report, the principal mentioned that the college received an A++ ranking from NAAC and secured the sixth position in the NIRF rankings. He also informed about the college’s collaboration with Tata Medical Centre in fields such as molecular medical microbiology, medical physics, molecular nuclear medicine, clinical oncology, and radiotherapy technology. The college has also signed eight new MoUs with international institutions in China and Spain.
Apart from PhD programmes in nine disciplines, the college has started a certificate course in hospitality management, informed the principal. He also said that a course in food science will be introduced soon. The college has partnered with IIRS-ISRO and is expanding by building a new campus at EM Bypass. An incubation centre for innovation and entrepreneurship, along with a community radio station, will soon be established, he said at the convocation ceremony.
