700 students collect degrees at DU’S 96th convocation
NEW DELHI: A 62-year-old retired army captain, a 48-year-old former government employee and a 50-year-old former manager were among the students awarded their degrees during the 96th Delhi University (DU) convocation on Monday, where union Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Ramesh Pokhriyal was the chief guest.
This year, a record three lakh students graduated from the university. Of them, 700 were present during the event. Around 305 students were awarded medals and prizes for their meritorious performance.
Expressing his excitement after receiving his doctoral degree in management, Captain Virender Singh, said, “I had always been a bright student. Getting back to academics was not difficult for me. I joined the PHD programme in DU in 2012 and my topic was ‘Organisational pride and performance’.”
He took voluntary retirement from the Army in 1983, 10 years after joining it. This was his second stint with DU, after doing his executive MBA from the faculty of management studies in 1988.
Narottam Singh, who quit his government job as a scientist around two-three years back to pursue his masters in Buddhist studies from DU, was awarded a gold medal on Monday. “I took voluntary retirement to study. My aim was not to get a degree but to gain knowledge,” he said.
He presently is pursing a masters in neurosciences from a university in Mysore. “I intend to do my PHD in the same stream later,” he added.
During the convocation, vicechancellor Yogesh Tyagi announced a plan to encourage more foreign students to join DU. “Next year, the university is planning to start the admission process for foreign students earlier than this year. Also, we are going to organise a special function for foreign students on Tuesday where ambassadors and high commissioners of various countries will be present,” he said.