- Education Without Moral Values Cannot Guide Society, Says Minister
- National Education Policy a Medium for India’s Intellectual Renaissance
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay released 21 books based on arts, science and social sciences at Lucknow University. The book release ceremony was held on the university campus under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Manuka Khanna. The books were published under the ambitious “Bharat Bauddhiks” initiative of Vidya Bharati Higher Education Institute, aimed at integrating the Indian knowledge tradition into the mainstream of higher education.
Addressing the gathering as the chief guest, Minister Yogendra Upadhyay said that education and moral values are complementary, and degree-centric education alone cannot provide proper direction to society. He emphasised that the Indian education system has always been rooted in character building, sense of duty and social responsibility. Describing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as a vehicle for India’s cultural and intellectual renaissance, he said the policy places Indian knowledge systems, Indian languages and skill-based education at its core.
The minister noted that the world today is facing challenges such as environmental crises, mental stress and erosion of moral values, solutions to which lie within Indian philosophy and knowledge traditions. He said practices like yoga, Ayurveda and Indian life values are now being embraced globally. Stressing India’s role in the knowledge domain, he said the country must move from being a consumer of knowledge to becoming a global guide, and initiatives like Bharat Bauddhiks will connect youth with their cultural roots while preparing them as responsible global citizens.
In her welcome address, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Manuka Khanna said the books published under Bharat Bauddhiks would strengthen the quality of Indian Knowledge Systems across various university departments and play a vital role in the cognitive, intellectual and moral development of students. She described the initiative as a meaningful step aligned with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020.
Elaborating on the concept of the Bharat Bauddhiks project, Prof. Jai Shankar Pandey said the initiative serves as a powerful medium to present Indian knowledge, philosophy and traditions to students through a modern and scientific perspective. He informed that the Bharat Bauddhiks examination for undergraduate and postgraduate students will be held offline on January 31 and February 1. The examination will be conducted in both Hindi and English, comprising 80 multiple-choice questions and 20 descriptive questions out of a total of 100 marks. Outstanding performers will be awarded prizes of ₹1,00,000 for first place, ₹50,000 for second, ₹25,000 for third and ₹2,500 for fourth place, along with certificates.
The programme was conducted by Dr. Aditya Mohanty, while the vote of thanks was delivered by Registrar Dr. Bhavna Mishra. The event was attended by deans, heads of departments, deputy registrars, the controller of examinations, office-bearers of the Lucknow University Teachers’ Association, and a large number of faculty members and university officials.
