Students head towards Multipurpose Hall for the Ignou convocation, in Darbhanga on Monday. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Patna, Sept. 5: Pride was evident on the faces of 784 students who took part in the 24th convocation ceremony of Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) in the state capital today. They were not alone though. Students at the Ignou headquarters in New Delhi and 42 regional centres across the country also bid adieu to the national university in style.

In Patna, 784 students received their degrees and diplomas, while four lucky ones received gold medals in their respective disciplines.

The 24th convocation across the country started with a live message of the Dalai Lama from the Ignou headquarters. In the live telecast, the Dalai Lama delivered a message of harmony to the students gathered at the convocation ceremony. He said people today value money more than ethics, adding that such a practice is a disaster for humanity and it is high time that attention was paid to moral ethics. Sources said the Dalai Lama was presented with DLitt (Honoris Causa) during the convocation ceremony at New Delhi.

After the live telecast, the convocation ceremony started at the Patna regional centre, during which the students were given light-brown scarves as souvenirs.

Qaseemuddin Haider, the regional director of Ignou, Patna, said this year, around 27,103 students were eligible to receive degrees and diplomas in different streams from the Patna regional centre of Ignou. However, only 784 were present at the convocation, and all of them were thrilled to don the light-brown scarves with their convocation outfit.

Vice-chancellor of Patna University Shambhu Nath Singh, the chief guest at the convocation ceremony, congratulated each of the students on the occasion.

The four gold medallists at Patna included Abhijit Kumar, for masters in history, Vijeta Priyadarshani, for masters in public administration, Sidrah Jamal, for postgraduate diploma in computer applications, and Gagan, for postgraduate diploma in disaster management programme.

Amardeep Kumar, an exuberant bachelor in computer applications passout, said: “It was like a dream come true for me to wear the convocation outfit. Though I am jealous of the students who are attending the main function on the Delhi campus and got the chance to wear the traditional black caps and gowns, I am happy that at least I got to wear this scarf.” In Darbhanga, 178 students received their degrees and diplomas in different streams at the regional centre’s convocation ceremony, organised at Multipurpose Hall near CM Law College.

The regional director of Ignou, Darbhanga, S.S. Singh, told The Telegraph: “It is the achievement of this regional centre that the strength of students in the different streams has increased over the years. We have also launched a foundation course in Maithili that has been incorporated in the Ignou syllabus during the July 2011 session.”