For the first time in the history of any university in India, Dilip Thakore and Summiya Yasmeen, founder-editors of EducationWorld and ParentsWorld, jointly delivered the Convocation Address at the 18th convocation of the Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong, Meghalaya (MLCU, estb. 2005) on September 23. The star-studded convocation event attracted an audience of over 3,000 participants including 1,500 graduates of MLCU.  

In their convocation address titled ‘Why every graduate should be an education evangelist’, Thakore and Yasmeen urged graduates not only to strive to succeed in their chosen vocations but also to adopt a “superordinate goal” to exert pressure on government and civil society to provide quality education for all (QEFA) citizens. They stressed that QEFA is the essential precondition of India achieving the Viksit Bharat and $ 30 trillion GDP by 2047 goals set by prime minister Narendra Modi. 

The joint convocation address which was loudly acclaimed by the audience was reported by the Shillong Times (September 24) as under: 

“In his convocation address, EducationWorld founder and editor, Dilip Thakore underscored India’s chronic underinvestment in education and research. He pointed out that while countries like South Korea and China spend more than 4% of their GDP on research. India spends only 0.6%. ‘Despite having 1,168 universities and 43 million students in higher education, India has not produced a game-changing product or technology in 75 years,” he said, citing dependence on imported jet engines as an example. 

He also noted that India’s overall education expenditure has stagnated at 3-4% of GDP since independence, far below the 6% recommended by the Kothari Commission in 1967.

Calling for a renewed focus on innovation, applied research, and skilling, Thakore said that graduates in the past earned degrees without essential skills. ‘Today, every student must acquire vocational training alongside academics. The world is volatile and uncertain, so always have a ‘Plan B,’ whether in music, gardening, or another practical skill,’ he suggested.

Summiya Yasmeen (also editor of ParentsWorld) highlighted the importance of early childhood education, citing the work of Nobel laureate economist James Heckman. She welcomed the inclusion of compulsory early childhood education for children of ages three to six – persistently advocated by EducationWorld — in the National Education Policy 2020 describing it as a major milestone.

Thakore endorsed Yasmeen’s view, saying: ‘It is easier to strengthen children than repair broken adults.’ He urged graduates to become advocates for quality education, especially in government schools, and identified early childhood education, skilling, and research as three critical priorities. ‘As young graduates, your role extends beyond personal success. High-quality education for all is the golden key to India’s prosperity,’ Thakore told the graduating batch.” 

Also addressing the assembly, Dr. Glenn Kharkongor, chancellor, MLCU, expressed gratitude to the EW editors for undertaking a “multimodal excursion” to Shillong for the 18th MLCU Convocation. “We took the decision to extend this unprecedented joint address invitation to the EW editors because over the past two decades plus, EducationWorld has emerged as the most insistent and uncompromising voice for education reform and quality education for all – from Kg to Ph D. This has proved to be a good decision, because complementing each other, they have delivered a timely message to graduates to not only focus on career advancement, but also to transform into quality education for all evangelists for the advancement of society and the nation. Simultaneously they delivered an important message to universities to emerge from our ivory towers to provide solutions for saving and uplifting their host cities and societies. These messages resonated with both publics, for which many thanks,” said Dr. Kharkongor in his closing remarks.     

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