The changing face of university convocations has been hard to miss in recent times. Medal winners have lamented that they no longer get pride of place on stage at such ceremonies. Instead, speeches as well as song presentations by schoolchildren—who are called to such functions to inspire them to study hard—seem to get more importance. The Lucknow University convocation on Friday was no different in this respect. All other state universities have been following a similar pattern as prescribed by Jan Bhavan.
During the nearly three-hour LU convocation, only 15 of the total 111 medal winners had their names called and were given medals during the main official ceremony. The medal winners assembled and were dismissed from the stage in only 10 minutes, according to the live telecast on the university’s YouTube page.
All of them, however, assembled for a group photograph.
Anshika Singh, who won nine medals and is preparing for the civil services examinations, said she felt disheartened.
“I felt overwhelmed but was a bit disappointed that this year medals were presented only to the Chancellor’s Medal recipients by the governor. We were called before the ceremony when nobody was present to even cheer for us. We requested several times but due to certain protocols, nobody tried to accommodate us. There were other things. The convocation had time for speeches, song presentations but not for the passing batch. We were called around 7am when not more than 50 people, other than the medallists, were present and conferred the medal by the vice chancellor. Some people tried speaking up but were dissuaded,” said Singh.
Until last year, medals were given on stage to all the medallists, she said.
Shikhar Bharti, a LLB student who won nine medals, said he was consistent in his studies throughout the last three years and secured medals on stage in the last two years.
“I was excited, but felt let down when during rehearsals we learned medals wouldn’t be given by the chancellor. Last year’s event felt grander, which was missing this year due to certain protocols. They took away our prestige by not providing the medals on stage during the ceremony,” Bharti said.
Roop Rekha Verma, former Lucknow University vice-chancellor, said, “It is an extremely bad idea, if the concerned people want to inspire children by depriving some students of proud moments. Convocations are rare occasions. There are thousands of other ways to motivate children, this is not the only one. Convocations worldwide follow a pattern of grace. These are once-in-a-lifetime moments for students. Everyone should receive medals on stage, no matter how long it takes,” said Verma.
Lucknow University Teachers’ Association (LUTA) president Anitya Gaurav said, “The programme was conducted as per the protocol and students were awarded medals on stage by the vice-chancellor.”
The faculty association at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences has also condemned the practice, saying that the day should be particularly dedicated to those graduating.