Governor Anandiben Patel cautions girls against live-in relationships

Lucknow, Oct 8 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Wednesday advised young women to stay away from live-in relationships and remain alert to people who might exploit them.

Patel's caution came while addressing the 47th convocation ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in Varanasi.

The governor, who is also the chancellor of state universities, expressed concern over rising instances of violence against women and urged girl students to make wise decisions in their personal lives.

"Daughters must think carefully before taking any decision and should stay away from live-in relationships and such circumstances which may lead to exploitation," she said, according to a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan here.

The convocation ceremony, held under her chairmanship, saw degrees conferred upon 55,642 undergraduate and 15,321 postgraduate students. Of these, 34,252 were women and 21,387 were men at the undergraduate level, while 11,484 women and 3,837 men received postgraduate degrees. A total of 178 research scholars were awarded PhDs and 101 meritorious students received gold medals.

Patel also digitally integrated all mark sheets and degrees into DigiLocker, describing it as "an important step towards transparency and digitisation in education".

Reiterating her remarks on social responsibility, the governor said education should not be confined to acquiring degrees but should instil discipline, duty and a sense of nationhood.

"Education is a means to bring change in life, not merely a tool to earn certificates," she said, urging students to fulfil their responsibilities towards their hostels and universities.

The governor also spoke on environmental awareness, cleanliness and organic farming. Expressing concern over natural disasters, she stressed the need for research to mitigate their impact and said, "We have disturbed the environment ourselves, and it is our responsibility to restore its balance." Patel praised the university's work in promoting education for the third gender and announced that an MoU with Taiwan would soon be signed. She also directed students to devote at least one hour every week to cleanliness drives.

Earlier, she distributed 300 Anganwadi kits to centres in Chandauli district to strengthen their facilities and released a commemorative souvenir and an illustrated biography of university founder Shiv Prasad Gupta titled Jhanki. PTI KIS KSS KSS