DEHRADUN: Vice President M Vekaiah Naidu today said primary education should be given to children in their mother tongue to instill a sense of respect for it in young minds. We should never forget our motherland and our mother tongue, he said at the second convocation of Swami Rama Himalayan University here.
“There is nothing wrong in learning different languages, but we must respect our mother tongue because it can express feelings and thoughts which other languages cannot,” Mr. Naidu said.
“Primary education to children should be given in their mother tongue to instill a sense of respect for it in young minds,” he said.
Noting that the idea that the entire world is one family forms the basis of India’s culture, the vice president said secularism was in the DNA of every Indian.
“We may speak different dialects and languages but the country is one,” he said.
Congratulating students who were conferred degrees at the convocation, he asked them to remember that education is not just a means of getting employment but also a means to enlighten minds.
He said the youth had a crucial role to play in the Centre’s initiatives such as Skill India, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Swachcha Bharat Mission, Make In India and Digital India.
He also suggested that applying former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s idea of providing urban facilities in rural areas could be an effective way to stop migration from the hills of Uttarakhand.
Governor KK Paul in his address at the convocation said the state government had taken a number of steps to stop migration from the hills and results will be visible in times to come.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat asked students to use their education to educate others.
— PTI