Confers Medals On Meritorious SSU Students
Governor Anandiben Patel at convocation of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Varanasi: Governor Anandiben Patel on Wednesday urged the youth to move in the right direction and contribute to nation-building, while expressing concern over what she described as declining values, inappropriate language and excessive mobile phone use among young people.Addressing the 44th convocation of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU), the governor said the younger generation should be encouraged to work for the country. Referring to Gen-Z, she said many young people were forgetting their values and that their language and behaviour were not appropriate. She said mobile phones were leading the youth in the wrong direction and added that it pained her when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who she said works for 20 hours a day, was criticised in objectionable language.The governor also expressed displeasure over cleanliness issues and advised teachers to focus on the development of the university rather than remaining engaged in politics.Describing Sampurnanand Sanskrit University as a major centre of Sanskrit learning, she said the institution had played an important role in carrying forward one of the world’s oldest cultural traditions. She noted that the 235-year-old university continues to provide higher education in Sanskrit and Indian knowledge traditions to students from Uttar Pradesh and several other states, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.Speaking about manuscript preservation, Patel said the condition of manuscripts had been very poor when she visited the university two years ago, but notable progress had since been made. She praised the vice-chancellor for accelerating conservation work under the knowledge-enhancement mission. She said more than 52 lakh manuscripts had been documented across India, over three crore manuscripts digitised and more than one lakh manuscripts made available online.Padma Shri awardee Ashutosh Sharma and several other dignitaries were present at the convocation.The governor honoured four teachers for their contributions to teaching, research and academics, saying the initiative would encourage quality, innovation and excellence in higher education. She also appreciated a govt school student for speaking Sanskrit fluently, saying the language is considered difficult to speak and the child’s performance was commendable. She urged the university to train at least 50 children who can converse in Sanskrit and help take manuscripts to the public.Patel conferred medals on meritorious students. A total of 11,958 students who passed the 2026 examinations were awarded degrees and certificates. In all, 51 gold medals were presented to 29 meritorious students who secured the highest marks in various examinations. Of them, 17 male students received 35 medals, while 12 female students received 16 medals.
