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Contribute to society's uplift, students told

By Our Staff Reporter

The Director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council, V.S. Prasad, conferring a degree on a student at St. Joseph's College in Tiruchi on Sunday. — Photo: R. M. Rajarathinam.

TIRUCHI, FEB. 8 . An educated person should strike the right balance of personal, familial, work-related, social, and spiritual zones in life, the Director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council, V.S. Prasad, said on Sunday.

Education should teach the skill, ability and competency to live meaningfully. By virtue of being fortunate enough to be among the privileged seven per cent in 17-23 year group to benefit from higher educational opportunities in the country, students should make their contributions to the society's uplift, he said, conferring degrees on students of St. Joseph's College.

The four pillars of education for the 21st century were "to know, to do, to live together and to be", he said, quoting from a UNESCO report. The pillars provided guidance to convert education for learning into education for living. Knowledge of subjects must lead to creation of ability and skills to understand life. Knowledge-based society/economy was a corollary to knowledge-based life. In an inter-dependent world and a technology-based society, skills for negotiating and problem-solving were vital.

Likewise, only by respecting diversity, can one live together, he said, adding that the country's diversity was our strength. "We can feel proud of what we are without hating what we are not," he said, quoting the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Education should also help one in understanding inner self. Knowledge would be meaningless if one was good in subjective knowledge without understanding neighbours and friends, he added.

Dr. Prasad conferred degrees on 1,097 students including 46 M.Phil scholars and 414 post-graduates, in the presence of the principal, Fr. S. John Britto, and Rector, Fr. S. Lazar.

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