Shillong, Nov 04: President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind today graced the 26th Convocation of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) at the Convocation Hall, NEHU Campus, Shillong. The convocation was also attended by the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri Tathagata Roy as Guest of Honour, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Conrad K. Sangma as Special Guest, Vice Chancellor of NEHU, Professor S.K. Srivastava and a host of other dignitaries.
As one of the premiere institutes of the North Eastern Region, NEHU has transformed the lives of the youth of the region, said the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri Tathagata Roy while speaking as the Guest of Honour.
The Governor said that as the Chief Rector of the university, he has had the opportunity to interact and deliberate with faculty members and students on various issues concerning the university to understand the challenges faced by the university in grooming the young minds in their pursuit towards a better future.
The university needs to incorporate the diversity of the needs of the society and to be relevant to the corporate world, said the Governor and felt the need to review and restructure the curriculum to enable the students to explore different avenues that are emerging today.
The Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K. Sangma in his address as Special Guest said that NEHU has been an educational hub to a lot of students of this region and the journey that NEHU has taken through the years has brought the difference to thousands of lives of the students who had the opportunity to study here.
Education has been a big priority for us, and as a Government we will continue to focus on providing quality education right from primary level or at higher secondary level as well as higher and technical education, he said.
If you look at what’s happening in the world today, the economy is changing, the world is changing and the kind of job opportunities that were there, maybe five years back, may not be there in the coming years, said the Chief Minister. The young minds need to think about these changes that are happening around and we as a Government feel that it is important to create opportunities for the young minds.
The youth should take risks and try to do something that is going to transform humanity forever and that is a kind of challenge that I want to give each and every one of you today here, said the Chief Minister.
During the convocation, the President conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) to Shri Kanubhai Hasmukhbhai Tailor in recognition of his outstanding contributions in advancing the cause of voluntary humanitarian services towards “Divyang”.
The President also handed over the President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold medal for the year 2019 to Ms.Taba Yehi, Department of Botany in recognition of her general proficiency, Srimati Sarada Krishna Iyer memorial Award to Ms. Pdianghun K. Warjri who secured highest marks in MA Political Science Examination held in the year 2019, U Tirot Sing Memorial Prize to Mr. Dicky Christopher R. Sangma of Mendipathar College who secured the highest marks in Political Science BA (Honours) Examinations in the year 2019.
Professor M. K. Khare Memorial Prize to Ms. Mary Lalruatsangi for being the highest scorer in the MSc (Zoology) Examination for the year 2019, Rajendra Kumar Sunaheri Devi Jain Charitable Endowment Award to Ms. Neha Dutta who passed the BSc (Honours) Zoology Examination in the first class securing very high percentage of marks in the year 2019.
Professor M. N. Karna Young Sociologist Prize to Ms. Bichano Lotha, Department of Sociology for being the highest scorer in the MA, (Sociology) Examination for the year 2019, Dr. D. S. Babu Memorial Award to Ms. Chinchanbeni N. Odyuo, Department of Education who secured highest marks in MA (Education) Examination held in 2019.
U Kiang Nangbah Memorial Award for the year 2019 to Mr. Jordan Kharsyntiew, Department of Tourism & Hotel Management who has been adjudged on the basis of excellence and quality of rendering service to the people and Professor S. S. Khare Promising Mathematician Award to Ms. Diamond Kharkongor Department of Mathematics for being the highest scorer in the M.Sc. Mathematics Examination for the year 2019. At the convocation, a total of 14502 candidates comprising of 136 PhD, 41 M.Phil. 1342 PG and 12983 Bachelor’s Degrees both in person and in absentia received their degrees.