UP Governor asks women to be ‘professional mothers’ before becoming IAS officers, teachers
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday (July 10, 2026) said women should strive to become “professional mothers” before becoming IAS officers or teachers, stressing on family values, parental responsibility and character building.
Addressing students, parents and teachers at the 41st convocation of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), the governor, who is also the chancellor of state universities, said that professional success should not come at the expense of family responsibilities.
She urged young women to continue their education and careers after marriage while contributing to the well-being of their families and society.
“Whether you become an IAS officer or a teacher, become an experienced mother first. Everyone should know how to cook home-prepared food,” she said.
Ms Patel said daughters should not interrupt their education after marriage and should use their knowledge and skills for nation building.
She also asked parents not to consider their responsibility complete after securing admission for their children in schools or colleges.
“Parents should know what their children are doing after they enter educational institutions. Even a small oversight can adversely affect their future,” she said.
Expressing concern over drug abuse around university hostels, Ms Patel said a monitoring team set up by Jan Bhavan (formerly Raj Bhavan) had found cases where narcotics were allegedly supplied through food delivery containers.
She said the network was immediately dismantled through administrative intervention.
The governor said that with increasing cases of domestic violence and crimes against women with declining moral values, education should go beyond academic excellence.
“If degrees are increasing but society continues to witness such crimes, it reflects the true state of our education. Moral values are as important as academic knowledge,” she said.
Degrees were awarded to 1,07,713 students at the convocation, with women securing nearly 82% of the medals.
Priya Yadav, a Bachelor of Agriculture graduate, received the Chancellor’s Gold Medal along with four other medals for securing the highest marks in the university.
Ms. Patel also launched the digital distribution of degrees through DigiLocker, enabling more than 1.07 million graduates of the previous academic session to receive their certificates electronically.
The governor further called for water conservation from childhood, praised the university’s use of artificial intelligence in academics and administration and praised initiatives including music, yoga, sports, moral education, clinical psychological counselling, relief for Agniveers addicts and skill development programmes.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Patel arrived at Kanpur by Utsarg Express and proceeded directly to the university. Raj Bhavan officials said she traveled by train in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on reducing unnecessary expenditure on fuel and official convoys.
Ms Patel’s remarks are the latest in a series of speeches in recent days focusing on issues affecting women, girls and families.
On July 8, while addressing a mother-daughter conference at the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University in Lucknow after its convening, she emphasized the need for greater awareness about women’s health, nutrition, anemia, menstruation, menopause, pregnancy and maternal health.
It directed universities to ensure regular health check-ups for girls, install BMI testing facilities, promote scientific awareness of women’s health and introduce ‘garbh sanskar’ courses to educate students on maternal nutrition, fetal development and healthy pregnancy.
The governor also called for campaigns against child marriage and discrimination between sons and daughters.
A day earlier, at the 24th congress of the Technical University of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in Lucknow, Ms. Patel advised the students to become self-reliant before marriage and said, “If you like someone, first become self-reliant and then get married.” She explained that she was not against love marriages, urged young people to make informed decisions and also called for improved teaching standards in state technical schools.
Published – 10 Jul 2026 17:19 IST