Girls bagged 10 of the 15 gold medals as students dressed in Indian attire and Malaviya pagdi — popularised by Madan Mohan Malaviya, the late founder of Banaras Hindu University — collected their degrees at the fifth convocation of the Aryabhatta Knowledge University on Friday, the first time the varsity enforced the Raj Bhavan-approved dress at its annual event.

In July this year, then governor Satya Pal Malik had constituted a three-member committee to suggest Indian dresses to be worn by scholars and guests at the convocation.

The committee consulted the National Institute of Fashion Technology. It was present Governor Lal Ji Tandon who approved the new dress code.

All state universities will henceforth have the same convocation dress.

“The AKU convocation is different from other universities. Students and guests donning traditional attire make it appear that we are an Indian university,” Tandon said at the convocation.

Sources, however, said that some other institutions including IIT Patna have gone desi in their event dress code. AKU had gone traditional three years ago, but this was the first time it adopted the Raj Bhavan-approved attire.

State health minister Mangal Pandey said: “The effort by the university administration in adopting traditional dress code is a small initiative, but it is a proud moment as it reflects the Indian culture.”

The governor lauded the Indian tilt in the new courses at AKU: “The university has launched certificate course in Madhubani art (or Mithila painting), along with diploma course in yoga and Bachelor of Unani Medicine & Surgery.”

State education minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma, vice-chancellor Dr Arun Kumar Agarwal, and the governor’s principal secretary Vivek Kumar Singh were among those who attended the convocation.

Priyanka Kumari, who received the gold medal in diploma in health care, said: “It has been dream come true for me. My financial condition is not sound; my father is a teacher at a private school. I had to work hard to attain the success.”

Priyanka plans to pursue BSc in nursing.