Pointing to the advanced digital technologies and social media platforms spreading information in abundance, Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Andhra Pradesh, Anantapur, S.A. Kori has said that information cannot simply be equated as researched knowledge.
“Social media platforms and electronic media have spread information freely. Our youth are excited by this and behave in such a way that they have digested the knowledge. This kind of information may be termed superficial awareness, not researched knowledge. We need to go deep into the source of information, unearth its essence and message and then present it to contemporary society. We must discover knowledge from all spheres of life – science, literature, culture and folklore. Let noble thoughts come from all sides,” he said.
He was delivering the convocation address at the 32nd Nudi Habba at Kannada University, Hampi, on Wednesday.
Stressing the need to pay attention to cultural conflicts in different historical phases, Mr. Kori called for a healthy re-evaluation of traditional values.
“The purpose of the study is to critically evaluate the present in the light of past. Preserving human values that are being crushed under the heavy weight of the corporate environment and encouraging writings that uphold these ideals should also be our priority,” Mr. Kori said.
Mr. Kori also focused on the need for working to develop Kannada language in wider disciplines and make it an efficient medium to import knowledge.
“All our efforts to develop Kannada as an effective medium for inculcating knowledge in the fields of science might be inadequate. In a situation when many languages and cultures are facing the threat of extinction in the face of rapid modernization, Kannada University has a greater role to play in protecting and developing Kannada language. We need to be intellectually prepared to make Kannada capable of facing the global challenges,” he said.
Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar, Kannada University Vice-Chancellor D.V. Parashivamurthy and others were present.
Meanwhile, the Nadoja Award was presented to Basavalinga Pattadevaru, head of the Bhalki Hiremath in Bidar district, Tejasvi Kattimani, an academic serving as the Vice-Chancellor of the Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh, and S.C. Sharma, a former NAAC director who is a scientist with specialisation in nanotechnology.
