Vadodara, Jan. 22 (PTI): President Ram Nath Kovind today said the fourth industrial revolution and technological advances will together make certain jobs obsolete, but also create new opportunities.
He said it is up to the institutions of higher learning to respond to changes being brought by rapid progress in the industrial and technological fields.
Speaking at the 66th convocation of the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) here, Kovind laid emphasis on education for the betterment of society.
“The nature of our economy and concept of a workplace is changing. The fourth industrial revolution and advances in digitisation and robotics will together make certain jobs obsolete and also create new opportunities.
“How our society copes with these dramatic changes will depend on how our institutions of higher learning respond to them,” he said.
Kovind said only education can help young people cope with these changes.
“It is crucial to harness energy of our young people and use it to make our country a developed society. Education is fundamental to this effort,” he said.
Kovind paid rich tribute to Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the late ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Baroda, for making primary education compulsory and establishing the MSU for enabling people to get higher education.
“Though Gaekwad III was a monarch, he took this bold step of making primary education compulsory in his state. That is why Vadodara is known worldwide for its educational activities,” the president said.
Kovind devoted much of his 24-minute speech to Gaekwad III (1875 to 1939), considered a visionary and dynamic ruler.
The president mentioned the role of Gaekwad III in shaping the personality of Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.
Gaekwad III had sent Ambedkar abroad for higher studies by providing him a scholarship and later employed the Dalit icon in his ‘darbar’ (court), he said.
“If Gaekwad III had not helped Ambedkar, he couldn’t have achieved whatever he achieved in his life,” the president said.
“Gaekwad III worked for the welfare of Dalits and economically backward classes. So Ambedkar, while drafting the Constitution, included provisions for the welfare of Dalits and weaker sections in it,” he said.
Kovind said those acquiring degrees from the university today should follow the example of Gaekwad III and become nation-builders who work for the welfare of less-privileged.
