Students must be equipped with technical knowledge: VP

Chennai, Nov 23: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu today said thanks to technological advances and digital revolution, the world was changing at an unprecedented pace and the students coming out of  institutes of higher learning must be equipped to deal with emerging situations not only in terms of technical knowledge, but also in terms of analytical skills, critical thinking, creativity and innovative ideas.

Delivering the Convocation address at the SRM University at suburban Kattankulathur here, he said higher education in India was passing through a phase of unprecedented expansion, marked by an explosion in the volume of students, a substantial expansion in the number of institutions and a quantum jump in the level of public funding. 'The enormity of the challenge of providing equal opportunities for quality higher education to ever-growing number of students is also a historic opportunity for correcting sectoral and social imbalances, reinvigorating institutions, creating new benchmarks of excellence and extending the frontiers of knowledge', he said. Stating that education was the single most important element in converting the young population into national assets, Mr Naidu said if the younger generation of the country was empowered, it would constitute a very strong and productive workforce for the coming years. 'Today, multi-tasking has become an essential requirement at all levels in the job market. Ability to meet the competition and adapting to quick technological changes are the traits, which are expected from every individual', the Vice-President said. UNI