Bhubaneshwar, Aug. 7 : President Pranab Mukherjee today inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Rameswar High School at Rameswar in Khurda district of Odisha.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was happy to participate in the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Rameswar High School. He fondly recollected the memories of Dr. Janaki Ballav Patnaik, who had asked him to attend the Golden Jubilee Celebration of this school.
The President said he was missing the presence of Late Janaki Babu. Throughout his life, Dr. Patnaik continued his literary activities in addition to his political activities and added that his friendship with Dr. Janaki Ballav Patnaik grew in the fields of literature, art and philosophy in addition to that in the political sphere.
Mukherjee stated that Janaki Babu himself was a product of one of these schools in the village of Rameswar. He said that he was also told that because of Rameswar high school, education could be imparted to the girls of the area, including the minority girl students.
The emphasis on creating an environment of greenery in the school reminded him of ancient India’s ‘Tapovan’ where ancient gurus taught in the midst of nature. The Golden Jubilee Celebration of the school is a befitting tribute to late Janaki Babu and his contribution in transforming the school.
Mukherjee said that education implies not just collection but assimilation of information to transform it into knowledge.
He quoted Swami Vivekananda and said “Education is not the amount of information that we put into the brain. We must have life building, man making, character making and assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library”.
Mukherjee said that to reap the demographic dividend in India, the young population has to be skilled appropriately, so that the youth are ready to take up right jobs and contribute to the growth of the nation.
The President said that though we have reputed educational institutions, it is a matter of serious concern that none of them have found a place in the global list of top 200 institutions. This is a gap which needs to be filled.
The president took the opportunity to exhort all the young minds present there to inculcate in themselves the spirit of innovation and research to expand their horizon of knowledge. He said this is necessary if we want to occupy our rightful place in the comity of nations.(ANI)