Date:01/04/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/04/01/stories/2009040150120300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Vellore

Transcend barriers, students told

Special Correspondent

110th College Day celebrations held at Voorhees College

A WORD OF ADVICE: A. Amuldoss, Registrar-in-charge of Thiruvalluvar University, addressing students at the College Day celebrations of Voorhees College in Vellore on Tuesday.

VELLORE: Registrar-in-charge of Thiruvalluvar University Vellore A. Amuldoss has appealed to college students to transcend all barriers including caste and religion and create a new society where everyone gets his or her due.

Delivering the college day address at the 110th College Day celebrations of Voorhees College here on Tuesday, Mr. Amuldoss said that students should become great achievers in their respective fields by crossing all caste and religious barriers. They have a role in removing all disparities in society. Education alone is indestructible wealth, he said, and called upon the students to remain wedded to their motherland even if they go abroad.

Wherever they go, they should not forget their country, their parents, their teachers and their mother tongue. Besides, they should remember to take care of their parents when they grow old and become dependent on them, he said.

D. Daniel Ezhilarasu, Principal and Secretary of Voorhees College, said that the present strength of the college was 2,540, comprising 1,887 men and 653 women. The college offered 15 undergraduate courses, eight postgraduate courses and four full-time M.Phil. programmes.

Thiruvalluvar University had granted affiliation to the college for introducing four more full-time M.Phil. programmes, one each in the Departments of Tamil, history, commerce and zoology. The college had 76 teachers (including 28 Ph.D. holders and 48 M.Phil. holders) in aided stream and 43 teachers in unaided stream. The college had introduced choice-based credit system to undergraduate students for the first time in 2008-09. The college had 39 university blues who distinguished themselves in various inter-university sports tournaments at the national level.

Mr. Ezhilarasu said that construction of a Rs.24-lakh women’s hostel and a Rs.23-lakh sports stadium was in progress at De Boer Hostel Grounds. C. Rufus Inbakumar, dean of Humanities, read the citation in honour of Mr. Amuldoss. Mr. Ezhilarasu presented the same to the latter.

Mr. Amuldoss presented the Vanzanta Wood Prize for the Best Outgoing Student of the year 2008-09 to K. Hemanathan, a student of III Year B.Sc. computer science. He also gave away proficiency prizes, memorial prizes, certificates and endowment prizes. D. Manoj Chelladurai, vice-principal, welcomed the gathering. Mr. Ezhilarasu later honoured the retiring staff members.