Surat: As many as 37,305 students from 92 programmes across 12 faculties were conferred degrees and medals at the 59th convocation of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) in the presence of Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat.In addition, 93 students were awarded PhD degrees at the convocation held at the Sanjeevkumar Auditorium on the occasion of the 193rd birth anniversary of visionary poet Narmad.Navsari student Aneri Sheladiya was awarded six medals and two prizes along with her BCom degree, while another Navsari student, Mahafarin Desai, secured three gold medals on being awarded her BSc (mathematics) degree.Addressing the convocation, Governor Acharya Devvrat urged young people to contribute to public welfare and nation-building. Citing the example of poet Narmad, who persistently fought social evils, superstition and injustice through his writings, the governor called upon the youth to make themselves capable of contributing to the nation’s bright future and creating a proud legacy for future generations.Vice-Chancellor Dr K N Chavda asked students to incorporate the values, ideas and teachings of the Bhagavad Gita into their daily lives.The university also shifted all 37,905 degrees to DigiLocker immediately after the convocation.Couple awarded PhD degreesDelhi-based couple Ajit Kumar and Priya Agnihotri were among those awarded PhD degrees at the convocation. The couple moved to Surat in 2021 after Kumar was transferred to the city by the State Bank of India, where he works as a Rajbhasha officer. Agnihotri subsequently joined Kendriya Vidyalaya in Surat. The two had been classmates at Delhi University while pursuing their master’s degrees in Hindi and later completed their PhDs together.
