Tirupati, September 18: SRI Padmavathi Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV) today conferred an honorary doctorate on Union minister of state for human resource development D Purandeswari. The award was presented by governor ESL Narasimhan, who is also the chancellor of the university, at its 14th convocation here.
Purandeswari expressed happiness for receiving doctorate from SPMVV which was established by her father NT Rama Rao when he was chief minister for promoting higher education among women for their empowerment.”That is why this award is special to me,” she noted.
Later, in her convocation address, she emphasised the need for empowering women by ensuring access to political power and resources for developing women socially, economically and politically. Expressing concern that gender discrimination was unabated in the society despite scientific and technological advancement, she said women were exploited and mostly restricted to marginal and lowerrung employment.
“The only solution to lifting women out of the morass is to educate them. It is really sad that we have higher incomes but lower morals and that we are long on quantity but short on quality,” she added.
Later, the chancellor conferred degrees, including 25 Ph.Ds, two M.Phils, 733 degrees and 83 gold medals to meritorious students.
Later, the governor and the Union minister took part in the plantation of saplings at the Indira Priyadarshini Auditorium where the convocation was held. SPMVV vicechancellor G Sarojamma, registrar E Manjuvani, Tirupati MP Chinta Mohan, vicechancellors N Prabhakara Rao (SVU), Mohammad Hafeez (SVVU), Harekrishna Sathapathy (RSVP) and Sudarshan Sharma (SV Vedic University) were present.
–Agencies