The Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence on July 8-9 hosted the second edition of All-India Vice-Chancellors Conference on 8-9 July with the theme ‘Humane Education for a Better World’ at Chikkaballapur in Karnataka. The conference attracted university leaders from 18 States, including 44 Vice-Chancellors from 50 Universities.
This second edition of the All-India Vice-Chancellors Conference 2025 forged a powerful confluence of academic leadership who contributed to the think tank of humane education for creating a better world. Handapangoda Niwathapa Thero, a Buddhist Monk who is renowned for his teachings of Theravada Buddhism, particularly in Sri Lanka, attended the event and addressed the Vice-Chancellors.
The two-day event also included ‘Sri Sathya Sai Bharath Samskriti Samman’, a ceremony to honour the vedic tradition of India. The Samman chose the best vedic student, the ideal vedic teacher, and the best vedic pāthaśālā or gurukulam across the country, and awarded them with a cash prize, citation and medal, in an effort to encourage vedic learning and foster vedic culture. The Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence also awarded scholarships worth 25,000 INR to 100 students of the Banaras Hindu University, as part of the collaborative Memorandum of Understanding which was exchanged with Banaras Hindu University’s Bharat Adhyayan Kendra in the year 2022.
Sri Madhusudan Sai, the Founder Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence speaking during the congregation said, “Character is the end goal of education – it is the ability to do the right thing always – both in good and bad situations. Contextualising education to humanise education is very important. He is truly educated who has the heart of Buddha (compassion), the head of Shankara (brilliance), and the hands of Janaka (serving the society). May we work together, flow together and reach together to humanise and divinise education.”
Handapangoda Niwathapa Thero in his key note stated: “Dear Vice-Chancellors, you are navigating the world for your students. You have dedicated your life to students and their life. While you have trained so many students, it will make a big difference if you can look at inculcating values and righteousness in them, to create a better world. The youngsters of today are educated, but they are vexed and frustrated. It is only through inculcating values and teaching them humaneness that we can add value to their lives. When Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai met me at Sri Lanka, I felt it was a divine call because we had the same purpose and that is to awaken the world to the ideal of ‘vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam.’ This message will pass through you, the educators, to our children. I am here to help Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai achieve this goal.”
Dr V N Rajasekharan Pillai, the Vice-Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University who participated in the conference added, “Today’s education is imparting knowledge and skills to the students, but they must also teach them how to apply the knowledge and skills to the society. Learning includes the process of unlearning too. Unlearning means to give up all prejudices. It is only through humane education, that we can achieve human excellence.”
Local MP Tejasvi Surya also graced the conference and said that education should free one’s mind from all kinds of conditioning and make it think critically. “It must instil in us an insatiable hunger to understand the nature of the world and see things for what they are.”
Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, part of Sathya Sai Grama at Muddenahalli village offers educatipn completely free of charge to its students. The University is founded on the principles of imparting holistic education that caters to the body, mind and soul of every student, only to make them brilliant, competent and compassionate—all at the same time. Humans are meant to be humane in the first place, before pursuing progress high up the ladder of achievements and advancements. So, the university believes students should be sources of strength, character, nobility, respect, kindness and compassion.
