Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan has said: “The three dimensions of the reform of higher education are access, equity and quality.”

“Broadening the access is extremely important when we see the gross enrolment ratio well below that of the developed countries. Equity is vital in order to ensure that under-privileged communities share the benefits of education. Equally important is the promotion of quality,”’ he said.

The former Çhairman of the Economic Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister told this at the eighth convocation of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (Deemed-to-be University) on Thursday. He is the Chancellor of the foundation.

About 1,605 students were awarded degrees during the convocation. Rangarajan said the importance of higher education in building up a nation is well recognised. Agricultural, industrial and scientific growth depends upon creating a corps of well-trained professionals in these areas and this can happen only with good quality higher education.

“We need not belittle what we have achieved. However, there is an inescapable need to strengthen higher education in terms of quality and effectiveness,” he added.

Delivering the convocation address, Vellayan Subbiah, Managing Director, Tube Investments of India Ltd, highlighted the importance of self-reflection and introspection towards managing the prime yardsticks of life in encompassing work, family, friends, society, and self.

He shared the views on managing oneself, improving continuously and cited the importance of yoga and meditation towards achieving it.

J. Mahender Reddy, Vice-Chancellor, in his report for the year said the university hosted six international conferences and two national conferences. In all, 420 papers were presented, of which 114 were presented by IFHE faculty members and doctoral students.

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