7,130 students get their degree certificates from astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar
Pune: As many as 7,130 under graduate and post graduate students including PhD holders received their degree certificates at 111th convocation ceremony organised by Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Friday.
It was a first indoor convocation ceremony organised at the newly-renovated Sant Dnyaneshwar Hall. Jayant Narlikar, astrophysicist and Emeritus Professor of IUCAA, who was present as the guest of honour at the event, gave away the certificates to students.
Vice-Chancellor (VC) of SPPU, Nitin Karmalkar, Registrar of SPPU, AD Shaligram, Dean of Faculty at SPPU, Prafulla Pawar, Controller of Examination (COE) of SPPU, Ashok Chavan, former registrar of SPPU Narendra Kadu were also present.
Narlikar enlightened about the importance of knowledge and excellence by narrating a short mythological story.
“Earlier, intellectuals were looked upon with a greater respect. But today, power and money have taken a front seat which is why it is hard to recognise true intellectuals in the society,” said Narlikar.
“The foreign countries have still continued to maintain their reputation to be excellent academic blocks because they recognise academic excellence better than our country. It is necessary to promote knowledge only then can we progress in the society. I wish all students who are aspiring to excel in academics, sports or any other field do not lose hope as it is a difficult path to tread,” added Narlikar.
Meanwhile, Karmalkar also congratulated all successful students and also the teachers. In order to prevent procuring of fake degrees, he said, “The university has taken measures to avoid the malpractices of fake degrees. Therefore, the varsity will be adding students’ Aadhaar Card number and photographs on the degrees as per the guidelines of University Grant Commission (UGC).”
The university also felicitated Prantik Deshmukh, a student of Department of Media and Communication Studies, who directed and produced ‘Matitali Kusti’, that has won the prestigious President Medal and Rajat Kamal under Exploration and Adventure category.
