Thrissur (Kerala), Aug 7 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said the real value of education lies not in passing examinations and achieving degrees, but in how one learns to help fellow human beings.

Kovind said this to a congregation of students and academicians while inaugurating the centenary celebrations of St Thomas College here.

Hailing the motto of the college -- "Veritas vos Liberabit" or "Truth will set you Free", the President said it was extremely appropriate.

"It reminds us that the real value of education lies not in examinations and in degrees, but in how we learn to help fellow human beings and care for those who are less well off or in need of what we have and can share with them.

"I have always believed that the greatest service to God is to help another person, to heal another person and to spread the light of knowledge to another person," said Kovind.

"It is this mission that must continue to guide us as we strive to educate and build our society, and fashion the Kerala and India of our dreams," he added.

Kovind congratulated all those present and wished them many milestones.

He also named some of the luminaries who have visited the college, including Mahatma Gandhi in October 1927, when students collected five hundred and one rupees in support of the freedom struggle.

"This may seem a small sum today but it was a princely amount in 1927," he said.

The President also spoke about the role of the Church in founding and administering the college. He said the Christian community in Kerala is one of the oldest -- not only in India but anywhere in the world.

Among the alumni of St Thomas College are former Chief Ministers E.M.S. Namboodiripad, C. Achutha Menon and veteran Congress leader C.M. Stephen.