Educate, uplift the downtrodden: Governor to educational institutions

VARANASI : Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel has said universities and other educational institutions should not limit themselves to their campuses. Instead, they should educate, empower and uplift the downtrodden who have been left behind in the journey of development, she said while speaking at the nationwide launch function of Dr Ambedkar Centre of Excellence at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Friday.

Addressing a function held at Shatabdi Krishi auditorium of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU, the governor called upon teachers, students and researchers to go to villages and backward areas and interact with women, children and the poor to understand their issues and problems in a better way and take steps suggesting ways to address them. She also said every institution should adopt a village and an Anganwadi centre and work for their development as being done in Uttar Pradesh. “By doing this, we will actually be able to see the transformation in lives of people who still struggle for a better life and basic amenities,” the governor added.

Vice-chancellors, senior academicians and members of the teaching community had gathered at BHU for the occasion. The UP governor and union social justice and empowerment minister Virendra Kumar launched Dr Ambedkar Centre of Excellence (DACE) aimed at providing coaching facilities to scheduled caste (SC) students for civil services exam. The centres are being set up in 31 central universities where 100 students each will be getting coaching classes from experts. The union social justice and empowerment ministry, through Dr Ambedkar Foundation, will provide ₹75 lakh annually to central universities for smooth functioning of centres.