In his address at the 18th annual convocation of NIT Rourkela on Sunday, President Ram Nath Kovind said that engineering institutions should move towards more holistic and multi-disciplinary education with increased emphasis on arts and humties and noted that NIT Rourkela has already adopted this approach to a certain extent.
President Kovind also said that girls should be encouraged to pursue technical education and excel in the same manner as they do in other areas, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Sunday.
The President said that one of the objectives of the National Education Policy is to make India a global knowledge superpower in the 21st century and urged NIT Rourkela to help achieve that objective.
The President said the National Education Policy 2020 envisions that engineering institutions should move towards more holistic and multi-disciplinary education with increased emphasis on arts and humties, the statement said.
"Raising the issue of less participation of women in technical education, the President said that in most of the convocations he attended across the country, he noticed that girl students are outshining boy students in liberal arts, humties, medical sciences, law and several other areas. However, it has been observed that the enrolment of women in technical and scientific disciplines is low," he said.
"According to a recent survey, enrolment of women in engineering and technical institutes across India is only about 20 per cent. He emphasised that girls should be encouraged to pursue technical education and excel in the same manner as they do in other areas," said the statement.
"He said that the growth and excellence of women in technical areas would add a new dimension to national development. It would promote gender empowerment at higher levels in the field of science and technology. It would also help women break the glass ceiling in one of the most important spheres in the world of the 21st century," it said.
"He was happy to note that NIT Rourkela has adopted five villages, as part of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and was upgrading science laboratories as well as providing computer education in those villages. He also noted that a Poverty Alleviation Research Centre at this campus works for the less-privileged people of Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput region of Odisha. He appreciated NIT Rourkela for these commendable initiatives," it said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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