BENGALURU: When Bangalore University (BU) conducts its 57th annual convocation on Monday, among those who will steal the limelight are the daughter of a farmer from Kolar and an expecting mother studying in a government college.
In a reward to their hardship, Archana K and Keerti Neginhal will be awarded the highest number of gold medals.
Keerthi Neginhal, MA Kannada student of Government First Grade College, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru, bagged eight gold medals, including one in commemoration of Dr BR Ambedkar for SC/ST students. Married to a software engineer, Keerti from Belagavi is expecting her first child in the next few days. She is not sure of attending the convocation.
After the wedding, Keerti came to Bengaluru where her husband is employed and continued her studies. The 24-year-old also attended coaching classes for civil service exams. "She used to wake up at 4.30am and leave for her coaching classes around 6.30am. From there she used to go to the college for post graduate classes. She worked hard and deserved this recognition," her husband Basavraj said.
Archana K won seven gold medals. Born in an agriculture family in Kolar, Archana finished her graduation from a government college. "I have been curious about science since childhood. Though I had secured good marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics in undergraduate, chemistry was a stand out," said Archana. She wants to pursue PhD in chemistry from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Sciences.
At the convocation, 34,337 candidates will receive their degrees. As many as 21,768 got distinction, 10,037 first class, 3,782 second class, and 1,613 pass class. A total of 300 gold medals and 73 cash prizes will be awarded to 167 students while 267 PhDs will be conferred. The gold medal will consist of 1.3-gram gold embossed on a 20gm silver frame. Students can download their certificates from the National Academic Depository. UGC chairman N Jagadesh Kumar will be chief guest.