Chennai: Lamenting that India’s ‘edupreneurs’ stayed obsessed with delivering degrees and jobs rather than knowledge and wisdom for the student community, Dr B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, exhorted the youth to “think differently, act courageously”. “Salvation and liberation are the ultimate goal of education; not just jobs and career…never mind if you fail in the exam but make sure you succeed in life. Career cannot be the goal, goal must be independent of career and career should subserve that goal”, Dr Vanavarayar told the students while inaugurating the Chennai Literary Festival at the University of Madras on Thursday.

Urging the students to read books beyond their ‘huge’ syllabus, he called upon the universities to create the right environment to promote reading as that would surely bring about a positive change on the campus.“Our youth are not inferior to any in the world. But then, we have not created the right environment for them”, said the well-known educationist, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
Dr Vanavarayar stressed the importance of reading books not just textbooks and recalled how great thinkers like Swami Vivekananda got their wisdom from reading books. For instance, the late President of India Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan developed his love for philosophy after he read a book.

Presiding over the function, Prof R. Thandavan, vice-chancellor of the university, stressed that the scholars should step out of their academic pursuits to integrate their knowledge with the needs of the society. He said the universities should not be content with awarding degrees but strive to impart skills to the students. He also complimented the Chennai Literary Festival (CLF) for providing a “vibrant platform” for reviving the reading habit among the people, particularly the youth. CLF chairman G. Olivannan and secretary Hemalatha Rajan were among those who addressed the audience in the packed hall.