New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu said that India would always be grateful to Sardar Patel for ensuring that every state and citizen had a stake in the developmental process of the independent nation.
He stressed that the future generation, especially the youth, must be taught to remember him with admiration, respect, and gratitude and understand his grand vision for India.
Speaking at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Charutar Vidya Mandal in Gujarat, the Vice President said that Sardar Patel firmly believed in empowering the people living in rural areas by providing value-based education and that was thisinstitute’s main objective.
The Vice President said that Sardar Patel, who understood the ideology of Grama Swarajya of Gandhi Ji prepared the ground for the empowerment of villagers by giving shape to Vidya Mandal at the tri-junction of agrarian neighborhoods – Karamsad, Bakrol, and Anand.
“He believed that the development of villages or rural India was critical to close the gap between the “haves and have-nots”. He wanted to translate the Gandhian vision of village republics into a reality,” he added.
On the Occasion the Vice President urged upon the higher educational institutions such as the Charutar Vidya Mandal to take special initiatives to create value addition to the craftsmanship of artisans by upgrading their skills, creating marketing avenues for their products and providing them the needed support. He asserted that there was every need to foster creativity, innovation, quality consciousness and ready marketability of products.
Given the geographical positioning of the University, Shri Naidu wanted the University to lay special emphasis on rural livelihoods and introduce courses to empower rural youth, especially women.
He also suggested a special course on exploring ways and means to make villages self-sustainable must be explored by the university. The focus in this would be on rural entrepreneurship and food processing, he added.
Expressing concern over the rise in the cost of higher education, the Vice President suggested taking measures to make higher education affordable for the most vulnerable groups.
Stating that an enabling ecosystem needs to be created within the university or educational institutions to enhance the spirit of research and innovation, the Vice President said that students must be provided with the 21st Century education system that enables the student to think out of the box, allows him or her to acquire the spirit of entrepreneurship.
“Students must be empowered to become job creators and equip them with the knowledge and skills required for setting up rural enterprises,” he added.
The Vice President declared the Charutar Vidya Mandal as a university during the 75th foundation year celebrations and said that the university status granted to it was recognition to its 74 years long service to the nation.
On this occasion, the Vice President also highlighted the fact that the number of visitors to ‘Statue of unity’ at Kevadia is double the number of people visiting ‘Statue of Liberty’ in New York. He also suggested that rail and air connectivity should be increased to the Kevadia so that more and more people could visit the place and draw inspiration from the life of Sardar Patel.
On economic scenario, Shri Naidu said that whatever signs of slowdown are appearing, that are only temporary as fundamentals of Indian economy are strong. He exuded confidence that India will become world’s third largest economy.
Shri Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrasinh Manubha Chudasama, Education Minister of Gujarat, Shri Mitesh Rameshbhai Patel, MP (Lok Sabha),Shri Prayasvin B Patel, President, Charutar Vidya Mandal, Shri Bhikhubhai B Patel, Chairman, Charutar Vidya Mandal, Shri Mehul Patel, Joint Secretary, Charutar Vidya Mandal, Shri Manishbhai Patel, Vice President, Charutar Vidya Mandal were among the dignitaries who graced the occasion.
Following is the full text of the speech –
I am extremely delighted to be present here in the beautiful town of Vallabh Vidyanagar known as the educational hub of Gujarat.
It gives me immense pleasure to be participating in the 75 glorious years of service of Charutar Vidya Mandal (CVM) and to witness the activities undertaken by the trust to the educational upliftment of rural masses of the region.
I am happy that Charutar Vidya Mandal, established in the year 1945, as a charitable trust had one prime objective. It aimed at rural development through education and sought to bring about social awakening, uplift, and enrichment of the rural population.
Behind the establishment of this institution there is the extraordinary vision of the great son of India, the Unifier and the key architect of Integration of Indian states, Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He had inspired Shri Bhaikaka and Shri Bhikabhai Saheb to set up an institution to accelerate rural resurgence in the post-independent India through education.
Sardar Patel entrusted Bhaikaka to help him in transforming Charotar into the focal point of India by serving the rural countryside to control migration of people from villages to towns in search of education, employment, and healthcare.
Here, one must understand and appreciate the remarkable foresight of Shri Patel, who thought about the migration from rural areas 75 years ago. He wanted to bridge the urban rural divide.
Sardar Patel envisioned an India that is one integrated entity accommodating a confluence of diversities, languages, and cultures.
His efforts in integrating 562 princely states into the Indian Union reflected his idea of a strong nation that had the stature to stand tall in the comity of nations.
Sardar Patel’s greatness lies not only in uniting the Princely states into the Union of India but in ensuring that every state and citizen have a stake in the developmental process of the independent nation.
The nation is ever grateful to Sardar Patel Ji. We must teach the future generation, especially the youth, to remember him with admiration, respect, and gratitude and understand his grand vision for India.
I am happy that this institution has been working to realize the dream of Sardar Patel and has been utilizing quality education as a powerful means for social transformation.
Infact, education is a great unifier. Good education helps reduce the caste barriers and builds a society that is more inclusive. It promotes an outlook that enables one to go beyond the narrow, fragmented vision that divides people into different categories. It is a great integrator of different socio-economic and cultural groups in society.
I was informed that as a tribute to such a visionary statesman, Charutar Vidya Mandal(CVM), under the leadership of Dr. C. L. Patel, established the first and only Research Centre dedicated to studies on the Sardar’s Life and Works in the year 2008.
The Centre for Studies and Research on Life and Works of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (CERLIP) offers Courses to impart quality education in the area of Arts and Humanity and aims to develop students for nation building through socially relevant and affordable education.
Education alone has the power to bring in a change in people’s mindsets. It has the power to alter social norms. It empowers the disempowered. It transforms individuals and societies.
Education must develop the human personality in all its dimensions – intellectual, physical, social, cultural, moral and spiritual. That is why it should not be limited or restricted to classroom experience but, it must become a holistic learning experience.
We need a holistic education system that teaches students the values of life, and inculcates a scientific, innovative spirit. Charutar Vidya Mandal was set up for imparting that kind of education.
Social transformation and empowering the people living in rural areas by providing value-based education was the Mandal’s main objective.
Sardar Patel, who understood the ideology of Grama Swarajya of Gandhi Ji prepared the ground for the empowerment of villagers by giving shape to Vidya Mandal at the tri-junction of agrarian neighborhoods – Karamsad, Bakrol, and Anand. He believed that the development of villages or rural India was critical to close the gap between the “haves and have nots”. He wanted to translate the Gandhian vision of village republics into a reality.
With rapid advancements in technology, there is now immense scope to create employment opportunities for the rural population by reviving indigenous industries and traditional professions including weavers, potters, leather workers, toddy-tappers and many others.
Institutions such as yours must take special initiatives to create value addition to the craftsmanship of artisans by upgrading their skills, creating marketing avenues for their products and providing them the needed support.
There is every need to foster creativity, innovation, quality consciousness and ready marketability of products.
India is on the cusp of a major transformation, Reforms undertaken by the Central Government and the progress being registered by several State Governments are making India one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world. However, to meet the rising aspirations of our young population, there is a need to achieve and sustain the growth momentum.
Universities, higher educational institutions have the tremendous responsibility of producing students who could lead the country to make progress in all spheres. I am indeed delighted to have declared the establishment of CVM University on this momentous occasion here a short while ago.
I am delighted that one of the oldest and most influential education trusts of Central Gujarat will now be a self-financed state private university. I think by giving this Vidya Mandal the status of University, the government has recognized its 74 years long service to education.
It is a piece of great news for the people of Anand District as the education town – Vallabh Vidyanagar in the district will now be home to two universities – Sardar Patel University (SPU) and The CVM University.
With CVM becoming a University, nineteen of its existing self-financed colleges spread across Vallabh Vidyanagar and New Vallabh Vidyanagar will become constituent colleges of the CVM University. I was informed that several support institutions like SICART (science research institute), academies, Ayurvedic hospital others will also become part of the CVM University and offer programs in more than nine academic disciplines.
I am glad to learn that the initial size of CVM University would be the largest among all private universities in Gujarat. Around 10,000 students and 560 well-qualified faculty members and almost the same number of non-academic staff members will be part of the CVM University.
I suggest that the administration and the faculty members of the CVM University should take measures to make higher education more affordable for the most vulnerable groups. Given the geographical positioning of the University, it must lay special emphasis on rural livelihoods and introduce courses to empower rural youth, especially women.
A special course on exploring ways and means to make villages self-sustainable must be explored by the university.
At the same time efforts must be made to expand the course offerings to improve the chances of employability of students completing their higher education from this university.
You must also plan to introduce courses, if you are not already doing, in rural entrepreneurship and food processing.
A stint at an industrial unit or a relevant workshop during the academic session would give students an overview of the functioning and will give them a firsthand experience of the job.
An enabling ecosystem needs to be created within the university or educational institutions to enhance the spirit of research and innovation.
The 21st century India needs a world-class higher education system that enables the student to think out of the box, allows him or her to acquire the spirit of entrepreneurship. We must encourage youth to become job creators and equip them with the knowledge and skills required for setting up rural enterprises.
With 990 universities and around 51,649 higher education institutions having a faculty strength of around 14 lakh, Universities and HEI’s in India have a great opportunity to mould the future of the nation. What is needed is a much stronger focus on quality.
Education of a high quality can truly transform India into a global leader. India which was known as the Vishwaguru can now regain that position by utilizing the demographic advantage it has in terms of the youth population.
More than 35% of the Indian population is young and waiting to absorb the best ideas from across the globe.
The government, the private sector and academic institutions like yours can provide the learning opportunities required for the citizens of the 21st century.
Technology and our country’s own rich human resources allow us to make this happen at an affordable cost.
This cannot happen through government alone. There has to be a broad societal effort, a combined thrust, a collaborative partnership between different stakeholders.
I am really happy to be with all of you at this prestigious academic centre on the momentous occasion and get to know about its activities and contributions to the nation.
I am sure that the university would continue to focus on quality education for the present and future needs of individuals, society and the nation by rededicating itself to the source of inspiration behind its formation – Sardar vallabhbhai Patel and the vision of all the founders who have shaped this institution over the past many years.
The word ‘Charutar Vidya’ itself denotes a quest for better quality of education. This is a quest that has no full stop. Quality is a continuous quest.
