Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday highlighted the need to educate women to take the country forward.

“Educate women and educate the whole nation. Women need regular encouragement,” Naidu said while addressing students and faculty at the 9th convocation of the Lovely Professional University (LPU) near here.

“We should always remember our mother, mother tongue, motherland, native place and gurus. We should never ignore our mother language,” Naidu said.

Nearly 38,000 students received degrees and diplomas on the occasion. International students from 70 plus countries also received degrees along with their Indian classmates.

“I would like to congratulate LPU, a young university with enthusiasm and an innovative spirit, for its commitment to provide quality education to prepare students to face challenges of the global society in 21st century.

“True education equips youth to contribute to the material progress of the country, as well as to maintain India’s cultural and spiritual heritage. I am pleased to learn that LPU focuses on the overall development of character of its students by laying equal emphasis on sports, cultural activities, self- discipline, values, ethics, developing teamwork and leadership qualities,” the Vice President said.

Talking about the importance of education, Naidu said: “Education is the main instrument for socio-economic transformation of the nation and lays the foundation for building a knowledgeable society. Institutions should produce individuals with critical analytical skills and innovative thinking. The time has come for universities to forge organic links with industries and impart skills to the students in accordance with the requirements of the industry.”

LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal said that the varsity had earned good rankings with international organisations and the government’s National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).

He said that the LPU had recently received the ICAR (Indian Council for Agricultural Research) accreditation, where out of 700 private agricultural institutions in the country, LPU became the first and the only private institution to get ICAR accreditation with a very high score.

Among those present on the occasion were Punjab Industries and Commerce minister Sunder Sham Arora, Lovely Group Chairman Ramesh Mittal, Pro-Chancellor Rashmi Mittal, Vice-Chairman Naresh Mittal, Vice Chancellor Ramesh Kanwar and Rajya Sabha MP and Punjab BJP chief Shwait Malik.