UP Guv asks women to be 'expert mothers' before becoming IAS officers, teachers

Kanpur (UP), Jul 9 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday said women should strive to become "expert mothers" before aspiring to become IAS officers or teachers, emphasising family values, parental responsibility and character-building. Addressing students, parents and faculty at the 41st convocation of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), the governor, who is also the Chancellor of state universities, said professional success should not come at the cost of family responsibilities. She urged young women to continue their education and careers after marriage while contributing to the well-being of their families and society. "Whether you become an IAS officer or a teacher, first become an expert mother. Everyone should know how to cook the food prepared at home," she said. Patel said daughters should not discontinue their education after marriage and should use their knowledge and skills for nation-building. She also asked parents not to consider their responsibility complete after securing admission for their children in schools or colleges. "Parents should know what their children are doing after they enter educational institutions. Even a small lapse in supervision can adversely affect their future," she said. Expressing concern over drug abuse around university hostels, Patel said a monitoring team constituted by the Jan Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) had found instances where narcotics were allegedly being supplied through food delivery containers. She said the network was immediately dismantled through administrative intervention. Linking rising incidents of domestic violence and crimes against women with declining moral values, the governor said education should go beyond academic excellence. "If degrees are increasing but society continues to witness such crimes, it reflects the true state of our education. Moral values are as important as academic knowledge," she said. Degrees were conferred on 1,07,713 students at the convocation, with women securing nearly 82 per cent of the medals. Priya Yadav, a BSc Agriculture graduate, received the Chancellor's Gold Medal along with four other medals for securing the highest marks in the university. Patel also launched digital distribution of degrees through DigiLocker, enabling more than 1.07 lakh graduates from the previous academic session to receive their certificates electronically. The governor further called for water conservation from childhood, praised the university's use of artificial intelligence in academics and administration and lauded initiatives including music, yoga, sports, moral education, clinical psychology counselling, fee concessions for dependents of Agniveers and skill-development programmes. Earlier in the day, Patel arrived in Kanpur by the Utsarg Express and proceeded directly to the university. Raj Bhavan officials said she travelled by train in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on reducing unnecessary expenditure on fuel and official motorcades. Patel's remarks are the latest in a series of addresses in recent days focusing on issues concerning women, girls and families. On July 8, while addressing a mother-daughter conference at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University in Lucknow after its convocation, she stressed the need for greater awareness about women's health, nutrition, anaemia, menstruation, menopause, pregnancy and maternal health. She directed universities to ensure regular health check-ups of girl students, install BMI testing facilities, promote scientific awareness on women's health and introduce courses on 'garbh sanskar' to educate students about maternal nutrition, foetal development and healthy pregnancies. The governor also called for campaigns against child marriage and discrimination between sons and daughters. A day earlier, at the 24th convocation of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University in Lucknow, Patel had advised students to become self-reliant before marriage, saying, "If you like someone, first become self-reliant, then get married." Clarifying that she was not opposed to love marriages, she urged young people to take informed decisions and also called for improving teaching standards in government engineering colleges. PTI COR KIS KSS KSS