Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 16 (ANI): Banaras Hindu University on Friday held its first Academic Excellence Awards Ceremony. The ceremony honoured 332 students who topped their respective courses with a CGPA of 8.5 or higher in the even semester examinations.
These awards, instituted from the 2025–26 academic session, recognise excellence in all disciplines at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Approximately 500 students will be awarded these awards each year.
The 332 awards presented at the ceremony included 173 undergraduate and 159 postgraduate students from various institutes and faculties. The Faculty of Arts received the most awards at 92, followed by the Faculty of Science at 78, and the Faculty of Agriculture and Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan at 29 each.
The number of awards for each course under this initiative depends on its student strength: three awards are given for courses with more than 100 students, two awards for courses with 50 to 100 students, and one award for courses with fewer than 50 students.
Presiding over the ceremony, Vice Chancellor Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi said that these awards were instituted to place academic achievements at the centre of the university’s calendar. He said that since different days have different significance, “There was a need to include a day in our university’s calendar that celebrates the core purpose for which a university exists.”
He further said, “These students have achieved excellence that is unparalleled, and this brings pride to the university. We are honoring these students while they are still on our campus, not after they have left, because talent should be honored when it can most inspire others.”
Sharing success mantras with the awardees, Prof. Chaturvedi turned to the students in the audience and said, “To those students who watched this ceremony from the gallery today, this is a call to action: now it’s your turn. Compete with them, challenge them, and who knows, next year the entire group of three award winners may change. Some of the students honored today will make our name shine worldwide, while others will return to teach on these very campuses.”
He concluded by paying tribute to the teachers, saying, “Teachers are the true foundation of the university. Without them, nothing like this would be possible. I salute all my teaching colleagues with utmost respect and esteem.”
The Swatantra Bhawan was buzzing with energy on this occasion. A large number of students, faculty members, directors, university officials, and awardees were present. When the hall was full, many students who had not received awards gathered on the first-floor balcony. Their enthusiasm demonstrates the deep interest students take in celebrating academic excellence.
In his welcome address, Dean of Students, Professor Ranjan Kumar Singh, said, “I am confident that these awards will inspire our students to excel even more in their academic pursuits.” He explained that approximately 500 awards will be presented to undergraduate and postgraduate students each year, and the awards will be distributed in two phases.
The awards were presented by the Vice-Chancellor, along with the Registrar, Mr Rajan Srivastava, Dean of Students, Professor Ranjan Kumar Singh, and Additional Controller of Examinations, Professor G.P. Singh, in the presence of the awardees’ faculty members and directors. The awardees were read out by the Registrar. (ANI)
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