Education is never complete until a person is inculcated with human values, speakers said at a five-day offline Faculty Development Program on Universal Human Values which began at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) on Monday.

“Human values cannot be explained in one or two lectures, it is a lifelong journey as it pervades every sphere of life,” Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, SOA Vice-Chancellor, said while addressing the inaugural function of the program which would conclude on August 12.

Around 90 faculty members from different parts of India are participating in the program organised by the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), faculty of engineering of SOA, and sponsored by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Prof. (Dr.) Mahapatra said education was meant for the development of humanity with the objective of attaining ‘moksha’ but today most people believe that it was a competition for high marks, certificates and good career. “If India was hailed as ‘Viswaguru’ in the past it was because of its focus on human values,” he said.

“Your body is the temple of God, if you peep inside you’ll realize who you are,” he said adding “we are living an animal life not being bothered about the welfare of others and we are not conscious about it.”

Prof. (Dr) Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Pro-Vice Chancellor of SOA and Prof. (Dr.) Sitikantha Mishra, Dean cum Advisor of SOA’s faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, also addressed the inaugural session.

Prof. (Dr.) Nanda said attaining human values should be a life long journey and a need for every human being.

Prof. (Dr.) Mishra said though it was known that the religious scriptures contained great knowledge and wisdom, people were loathe to practice it. “What use is such knowledge if not practised?,” he asked.

Prof. Renu Sharma, Head of department of Electrical Engineering, welcomed the guests while Dr. Dilip Debnath, Eastern Region Coordinator of AICTE and Mr. Umesh Yadav, Resource Person from NCCIP, were present during the inaugural session.