Adopt innovative approaches to make effective changes in the education system for the welfare of the society- Chairman UGC
Bathinda: Bathinda: Central University of Punjab, Bethesda (CUPB) & Global Educational Research Association (GERA) successfully organised the two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference EDUCON-2020. On the last day, UGC Chairman Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh delivered the valedictory address of this Akhand Conference held on 8th January. During the Valedictory Ceremony Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh, Chairman, UGC, New Delhi graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Prof. H C S Rathore (Vice Chancellor, CUSB) & Prof. B.K. Tripathi (Director, IUCTE, BHU) joined the concluding session as Guest of Honor and Special Guest respectively.
This 31-hour long marathon International Conference was executed under the patronage of Prof. (Dr.) Raghavendra P. Tiwari (Vice Chancellor, CUPB) & Padma Shri Dr. Mahendra Sodha (Patron, GERA). In this International Conference, the acclaimed academicians & scholars from United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, USA, Australia, Bhutan and India continuously discussed the ten subthemes of the focal theme `‘Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Realize Global Peace’ for around 31 hours.
The Valedictory Session started with the welcome address by Prof. R.K. Wusirika, Dean In-charge Academics. While presenting the Conference report, Prof. S.K. Bawa, Convener of the Conference mentioned that during this two-day conference 124 scholars from across the world participated and presented research papers on 10 subthemes of this conference. She mentioned that out of the 31 hours long non-stop dialogue sessions held during this conference, the organizing team has outlined recommendations for effective implementations of NEP-2020 which would be helpful to everyone.
Chief Guest, Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh, Chairman, UGC, New Delhi, in his address stressed the need of adopting innovative approaches to make effective changes in the education system for the welfare of society. He highlighted that the current challenging situation of the Corona pandemic has prompted the educational institutions to think innovatively by adopting ICT in the teaching process & allowing students to continue learning the process by staying connected with their teachers through the virtual platform. He stated that civil violence and erosion of trust in society has always been a threat to the attainment of global peace, economic development, and realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He asserted that the focal theme of this International Conference is very much appropriate and relevant to be discussed at the international level as education coupled with innovation & values will prove to be an effective tool in restoring global peace and also in realizing our Sustainable Development Goals. He mentioned that iconic leaders of the world like Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Nelson Mandela & others promoted the thought that Education is the most powerful weapon which can be used to change the world. He added that National Education Policy- 2020 enlightens us to realize the vision of our great world leaders as it is based on the foundational pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability. He said that the objective of NEP-2020 is to nurture global citizen who will contribute towards building a self-reliant India and restoring global peace & emphasized that its effective implementation will help in making India powerhouse of knowledge once again.
Prof. B.K. Tripathi, underlined the need to create a learner-centric education system. He also congratulated organizers for the successful execution of this two-day Akhand Conference. Prof. H C S Rathore mentioned that to restore peace, the world needs to resolve to invest only in sustainable development projects.
During the concluding the session, Prof. S.P. Malhotra, President GERA India, presented the Life Time Achievement Award to Prof. Vasudha Kamat (Former Vice Chancellor, SNDT Women University, Mumbai). He also honoured young educationists, young researchers and best paper presenters with special awards.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari mentioned that this International Conference has proved beneficial for all as the topics of discussions are related to different paradigms of NEP-2020 and its implementations. Prof. Tiwari shared that the deliberations of this conference has helped to bridge out the connection between our past heritage and future education system & the recommendations of this conference will be forwarded to higher authorities for more effective implementations of NEP-2020.
Shri. KP Singh Mundra, Registrar, CUPB thanked participants of this Akhand Conference’for their active and sincere participation. He also expressed his indebtedness towards the expert speakers i.e. Shri Chand Kiran Saluja (India), Dr. Saamdu Chetri (Bhutan), Dr. S. Passi (India), Prof. J.S. Rajput (Former Director, NCERT), Prof. Vasudha Kamat (Former Vice Chancellor, SNDT Women University, Mumbai), Prof. Eugene (University of Calgary, Canada), Prof. C.B. Sharma (Former Chairman, NIOS India), Prof. Abhay Jere (Chief Innovation Officer, AICTE), Prof. J.S. Dhillon (University of Worchester, U.K.), Prof. Radhika Iyengar (Columbia University, U.S.A.), Prof. Rajnish Jain, (Secretary, UGC), Prof. Raghu Echempati (Kettering University, Michigan), Prof. M A Siddiqui (Former Chairman, NCTE), Prof. Saroj Sharma (Chairperson NIOS, New Delhi), Ms. Manvi Gandhi (University of Adelaide, Australia) for their meaningful contribution through academic participation in this conference.