Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday said women should aspire to become "expert mothers" before aspiring to become IAS officers or teachers, alongside pursuing professional careers, stressing that academic and career achievements should be balanced with family responsibilities.
Addressing the 41st convocation ceremony of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU) in Kanpur, Patel, who also serves as the Chancellor of State universities, encouraged women to continue their education and careers after marriage while contributing to the welfare of their families and society.
Highlighting the role of mothers in shaping future generations, she said professional success alone was not sufficient. "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."
The Governor also urged young women not to abandon their education after marriage and said their knowledge and abilities should be used in the service of both society and the nation.
Addressing parents, Patel said their responsibility did not end once their children secured admission to educational institutions. She called for greater parental involvement in students' lives and warned that inadequate supervision could have long-term consequences. "Parents should know what their children are doing after they enter educational institutions. Even a small lapse in supervision can adversely affect their future."
Expressing concern over substance abuse among students, Patel revealed that a monitoring team constituted by Jan Bhavan, formerly Raj Bhavan, had uncovered an alleged drug supply network operating around university hostels.
According to her, narcotics were reportedly being smuggled through food delivery containers before the network was dismantled through administrative intervention.
The Governor also linked the rise in crimes against women and incidents of domestic violence to a decline in moral values, arguing that education should focus not only on academic excellence but also on character-building. "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."
The convocation saw degrees awarded to 1,07,713 students, with women securing nearly 82 per cent of all medals. Among the awardees, Priya Yadav, a BSc Agriculture graduate, received the Chancellor's Gold Medal and four additional medals after emerging as the university's highest scorer.
During the ceremony, Patel also launched the digital distribution of degree certificates through DigiLocker, enabling more than 1.07 lakh graduates from the previous academic session to access their certificates electronically.
She further appealed for water conservation to be taught from an early age and praised the university for integrating artificial intelligence into academics and administration.
The Governor also commended several institutional initiatives, including programmes in music, yoga, sports, moral education, clinical psychology counselling, skill development and fee concessions for the dependants of Agniveers.
Earlier in the day, Patel travelled to Kanpur aboard the Utsarg Express before proceeding directly to the university. According to Raj Bhavan officials, she chose rail travel in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on reducing unnecessary expenditure on fuel and official motorcades.
The Governor's remarks are the latest in a series of speeches centred on women's welfare, family values and social development.
On 8 July, while addressing a mother-daughter conference at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University in Lucknow following its convocation ceremony, Patel called for greater awareness of women's health issues, including nutrition, anaemia, menstruation, menopause, pregnancy and maternal healthcare.
She directed universities to conduct regular health screenings for female students, install Body Mass Index (BMI) testing facilities, promote scientific awareness on women's health and introduce courses on garbh sanskar focusing on maternal nutrition, foetal development and healthy pregnancies.
She also advocated campaigns against child marriage and gender discrimination.
A day earlier, at the 24th convocation of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University in Lucknow, Patel had advised students to become financially independent before marrying. Clarifying that she was not opposed to love marriages, the Governor urged young people to make informed life decisions and also called for improving teaching standards in government engineering colleges.
