Kalam lauds varsity for virtual university system

Chennai, Sep 4 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today lauded University of Madras for establishing a virtual university system in the country and urged the Tamil Nadu Government to integrate all other universities in the state to become partners in the pioneering initiative.

Inaugurating the 150th year Foundation Day celebrations of the University of Madras here, Dr Kalam said as the country was moving towards a knowledge era, there was a need for transforming the society into a knowledge-based one.

The University of Madras, with its inherent strength in research and teaching, had taken pioneering steps in establishing a virtual university system in India.

''To reinforce this, it is essential for the state government to integrate all other universities of the state to become partners in the extension of the virtual university,'' he said.

With a view to promoting excellence and innovation, Dr Kalam said universities should be empowered with adequate functional autonomy to help higher education system generate the required human capital for the knowledge era.

''This is important since economic development and evolution of enlightened citizens for the nation will be the focus for the next two decades,'' he added.

Stating that University of Madras with its 150-year heritage, would be a major contributor for societal transformation of the nation, Dr Kalam said the university was ideally suited for providing integrated education to the students, which would make them enlightened citizens.

''By imparting integrated education, students would have a different way of thinking, learning and doing, resulting in a different way of life,'' he said and added the Tamil Nadu Government would act as a catalyst in enabling the university to meet the challenges of the 21st century with the state-of-the-art research and creation of globally competitive human capital.

''The university is traditionally known for scientific research and teaching. This has to be consolidated and expanded research areas must be linked to the priorities of the state and the nation,'' he said MORE UNI GV GM PR DS1403