Date:28/11/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/11/28/stories/2004112806090600.htm

Tamil Nadu

`Education through life must be guiding philosophy'

By Our Staff Reporter

THANJAVUR, NOV. 27 . The purpose of education is to improve the quality of life and life management systems, V.N. Rajasekaran Pillai, Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, said today.

Delivering the 12th convocation address at the Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women at Vallam near here, Dr. Pillai said education for life, education through life and education throughout life must be the guiding philosophy of any educational process.

Conferment of degree might not be considered the culmination of the process.

It was not even the beginning of the end, but perhaps the end of beginning. The degree was only a licence for further education.

The purpose of education was stated as learning to know, learning to learn, learning to do and learning to live together. Imparting knowledge was considered the most important purpose of education, Dr. Pillai said.

Education would be worthwhile when it brought with it an uplift and reinforcement of the human spirit and the moral fibre of knowledge-seekers.

Higher technical education had many purposes beyond the acquisition of skills for the world of work.

It involved developing a person's ability to reason systematically on critical questions and issues, to place facts in a broader context, to consider the moral implications of actions and choices, to communicate knowledge and questions effectively and to nurture habits that promoted life-long learning behaviours outside the academic setting.

Dr. Pillai said higher education institutions, particularly technological institutions, had significant roles in supporting knowledge-driven economic growth strategies and in the construction of democratic, socially cohesive societies.

With increasing importance attached to emerging areas such as information technology and biotechnology, there was a perceptible decline in interest in understanding the importance of awareness of humanities, social sciences, languages and art subjects.

This was an undesirable trend. Promotion of relevant education and training in these subjects, with proper integration of such awareness courses and other emerging skill-related areas, was essential.

Dr. Pillai conferred undergraduate and postgraduate degrees on 292 candidates. He gave away gold medals to rank holders.

K. Veeramani, president, Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science and Technology, presided.

N. Ramachandran, prinicipal of the college, said the college had been honoured with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan National Award for the best engineering college for overall performance in 2004.

The Indian Society for Technical Education instituted the award.