Employment should not be end goal of education, be open to opportunities, MP tells students

Students should take inspiration from entrepreneurs like redBus founders, MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry tells students at an event at the Krishna University (KrU) College of Arts and Science in Machilipatnam on Thursday.

Employment should not be the end goal of education, but a student should be ready to take on challenges and be open to various opportunities available in today’s times, said Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry.

Addressing the students as the chief guest of ‘Achievers’ Day’ programme at the Krishna University (KrU) College of Arts and Science in Machilipatnam on May 22, Thursday, Mr. Balashowry said a student should take inspiration from entrepreneurs like Phanindra Sama, who, along with his two other friends, founded redBus, an online ticket booking company.

Recalling how the platform came to be, Mr. Balashowry said Mr. Phanindra Sama’s disappointment at not getting a ticket to go home for Deepavali led him to build an online ticketing platform in 2006 with just ₹5 lakh. Today, he sold the company at ₹800 crore, the MP said.

Taking another example, Mr. Balashowry talked about Kallam Anji Reddy, the founder-chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, who started with a small position in Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited. Later, he went on to found the pharma company, the MP told the students.

Later, the MP announced that proposals for setting of an athletic track, indoor stadium, swimming pool and tennis court on the campus have been sent to the Central government and that he would work towards improving facilities on the campus.

Krishna Superintendent of Police R. Gangadhar Rao also spoke. He advised students to stay away from gambling and direct their focus on studies. Vice-Chancellor, K. Ramji, said students from the KrU College of Arts and Science have been offered jobs with an annual package ranging from ₹2.50 lakh to ₹4.50 lakh.

Students who got the offer letters were felicitated.