U.P. govt doing great service by educating divyangs: Kanubhai Tailor
Over 1600 students awarded degrees; 112 toppers bag 142 medals at 10th convocation ceremony of Dr Shakuntala Misra Rehab University, Lucknow
As many as 1622 students, including 832 females and 790 males, from 2022-23 academic session were awarded degrees during the 10th convocation ceremony of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow, here on Saturday. Of them, 112 toppers, including eight differently-abled (divyangs) students, bagged 142 medals—89 by female and 53 by male students. Among them, eight differently-abled toppers won 11 medals.
Governor Anandiben Patel, the visitor of the university who presided over the convocation, presented the medals to the students and wished them bright future. On the occasion, she also lauded the work done by Padma Shri Kanubhai Hasmukhbhai Tailor, chairperson, Disabled Welfare Trust of India, Surat in Gujarat for establishing a school for persons with disabilities.
Tailor congratulated the Uttar Pradesh government’s initiative to run a dedicated university for persons with disabilities. He said there were several state government which only talks about doing good for persons with disabilities but imparting higher education was the next-level work and a great service to divyangs done by the U.P. government.
Tailor thanked the governor for extending her support to him when he started a small school for divyangs in Surat when Patel was education minister in Gujarat. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting his school, giving a huge piece of land to establish a big school for divyangs when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.
In his address, the Padma Shri awardee said distributing tricycles and ration to divyangs was not enough. “By imparting education, one can transform the lives of differently abled persons. I look forward to signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University to start a course for differently-abled students graduating from my school in Surat,” he said.
Lauding the university, Tailor said he had not seen any other university where persons with disabilities in such large numbers were getting higher education at a place equipped with special facilities. He said every state should an open university for divyangs.
Narendra Kashyap, U.P. state minister (independent charge) for Divyangjan empowerment & backward welfare, was also present at the event. Vice chancellor Prof Rana Krishna Pal Singh listed out the achievements of the university and talked about its future plans.
It was a moment of pride and celebrations as the toppers received their medals for excellence in academics. The medal recipients sported a big smile as they bagged gold, silver and bronze medals at the 10th convocation of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University.
Happiness of visually impaired Ranu Tiwari, who passed his BA with 76.11%, knew no bound as he received Dr Shakuntala Misra Memorial Gold Medal. “It is a huge honour to get rewarded for hard work that I had put in over the years. Life of a visually impaired is very difficult. But with family support, I was able to overcome difficulties easily,” said Ranu who is visually impaired since birth.
Another visually impaired student Shivam Sharma also received Dr Shakuntala Misra Memorial Gold medal for securing 79.90 per cent marks in visual impairment category in post graduate in history. “I lost my eyesight when I was in class 3 due to some problem in cornea. My family took me to several doctors but it did not work. I went to government school for class 10, 12 and graduated from this university,” said Shivam who wants to prepare for civil services.
A couple of things that were common among the three students who received the chancellor’s gold, silver and bronze medals at the university. They all did B Tech and had faced major financial problems but their family stood by them. The first is Abhinav Tiwari who was conferred chancellor’s gold medal for securing highest marks in B Tech computer science and engineering with 87.55%.
“I’m now preparing for GATE exams so that I may get through IITs for M Tech. I am satisfied with teaching standard of the university as teachers here are very cooperative,” said Abhinav who hails from Pratapgarh district. Talking about his financial problem, he said his father worked as a supervisor in a company with a meagre salary. However, his family stood by him that allowed him to continue with his studies.
Divyanshi Dutta, who passed B Tech electrical engineering with 87.54% marks, regretted missing the gold medal by a whisker. “This is hurting that I came so close to gold,” she said. She got placement with a semi government firm. She will later pursue M Tech and is preparing for GATE programme. “My parents had a lot many financial issues but my family stood by me,” she said.
Priti who goes by her first name did her B Tech with computer science and engineering with 86.51% marks. She too got placement with a private company. She also faced financial problems during her studies.
