SC judge asks students to acquire knowledge to build character

Supreme Court judge MM Sundresh on Saturday asked students to acquire knowledge to build their character, as it will provide them with a positive attitude to excel in their careers.
Sundresh delivered his inaugural address at Vellore Institute of Technology.

He said, “Acquiring knowledge is a process of discovering one's ignorance on various issues. Ability lies with everyone, as it is not attained by birth. Such ability is not restricted to education alone, but is spread across various fields. Students should not get demotivated by failures, as they provide valuable experiences to achieve their goals.”
In his presidential address, G Viswanathan, founder and chancellor of VIT, said that the Union government should increase the allocation of funds for education, which is under the concurrent list, from the existing 3% of GDP to 6% to enroll more rural students in higher education.
The Union government has allotted less than 2.5% for education in its budget for 2025-26, i.e., just Rs 1 lakh crore was allocated for education in the Rs 50 lakh crore budget, he said, adding that the allocated sum was insufficient.

He said that inadequate allocation of funds for education by both the Union and state governments has only increased the financial burden on parents, especially those who enroll their children in private schools.
“On average, parents spend at least Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per year for school education. As per estimates, India accounts for only 28% of youngsters aged between 18 and 23 years enrolled in higher education, compared to the world average of 40%. Among states, Tamil Nadu tops in students enrolled in higher education, followed by Kerala, while Bihar remains last on the list,” he said.

Comparing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of Western countries and Southeast Asian countries with India, he said that advanced countries like the USA, Germany, France, the UK, and South Korea have GERs of 90%, 75%, 70%, 60%, and 100%, respectively, whereas only 28% of students in India are enrolled in higher education, despite having 1,100 universities and 59,000 colleges.

"In terms of per capita expenditure on higher education, the USA spends 35,000 USD, China 2,400 USD, and India 260 USD every year. Of 190 countries, India stands at 155th in terms of providing higher education," he said.
On the occasion, R Ganesan, head of the corporate center at Larsen and Toubro Limited, Sankar Viswanathan, and Sekar Viswanathan, vice-presidents of VIT, were present.