President stated that increasing quantity without quality at universities is not favourable, adding, “Iranian universities must be turned into skill-based universities”.

Speaking on Wednesday in University of Tehran at a ceremony marking the beginning of academic year, President Hassan Rouhani said, “Science is the basis for skill, advancement and development, and students have to learn skills and the future needs of the society alongside science”.

“There is no doubt that our universities have a heavy responsibility today, and the government is responsible towards the university,” he said.

I am proud of being brought up by both seminary and university, said the President, adding, “The team of university and seminary are responsible for the future of the society”.

He continued, “The government is working hard to resolve the issues of providing services to universities”.

“I have always told the ministers of science and health and university presidents to pay special attention to the young people’s sport, health, nutrition and welfare as much as we spend time for their education,” said the President.

Dr Rouhani stressed, “We need educated, healthy, energetic, lively and compassionate students who love their country, and all of these need to work with each other so that we can do our main job”.

The president added, "There may be a variety of reasons why there are not enough jobs for university graduates, but there is no doubt that a skill-based graduate would find a better job sooner than a memorisation-based graduate".

The President noted, "It was said in the past that science was doubling after several years, today we have to say that different sciences are doubling after a few days, and the opportunity may be reduced again in the future".

Dr Rouhani emphasised that progress at universities should be in accordance with the pace of science, saying, "Today, old textbooks are taught at universities, and professors’ knowledge belong to years ago”.

The President stated that today the conditions in the field of science have completely changed from the past, stating, “We must prepare our students for tomorrow which is quite different from today”.

“Today, the path of science and knowledge is different than before, and we need to make the student not only better prepared for tomorrow's world, but also provide tools for them to be always learning,” said Rouhani.

Dr Rouhani described connecting the university to manufacturing and industrial centres a necessity and said, "In this regard, good steps have been taken and such actions should be accelerated”.

We should prepare ourselves for the coming elections, he said, adding, “The future of our country is determined and approved by the elections and with all the shortcomings and deficiencies, the best way to defeat extremism and reform the society and meritocracy is the ballot box”.

Stating that some put emphasis on constructive interaction and others on continuous confrontation with the world, he said, “Some people believe that problems can only be resolved by displaying power and destroying the enemy, while others believe that many problems can be resolved through dialogue”.

The president said, "Some say that negotiating with foreigners is a waste of time and we have to confront them, and then one day they will soften their stance, while some believe that war and confrontation would not get us anywhere”.

“Of course, when there is aggression, it will no longer be possible to speak of constructive interaction and its answer is clear, but the question is what to choose under the current circumstances,” he said..

Dr Rouhani noted, "Some tell us ‘you wasted time talking to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency is controlled by the US and the superpowers, and talking to it is futile’, while some say we can negotiate for years and reach a conclusion”.

“We were able to resolve the PMD case and announce that the case was closed. This is very heavy for some to take, like a bomb being dropped on them,” said the President.

The president added, "When we were negotiating with the six major powers, some would say that these talks are of no use and that we have to resist, while some were in favour of negotiation”.

Dr Rouhani pointed out, "It is not easy to negotiate with the six major powers of the world and get them to repeal and retract the six Chapter-VII resolutions. In addition, no country’s right to nuclear activities has not been approved by the United Nations, while it happened only for Iran, which is included in Resolution 2231”.

The President said, “When the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached, one of the world's leaders was shocked at the fact that the world's largest companies lined up for a deal with Iran”

Dr Rouhani noted, “At the beginning of our first term of office, when we cut inflation, some economists complained that this was wrong, but when inflation was reduced to one-digit rate and at the same time economic growth stood at 12.5%, we amazed at the world”.

“The Zionist Regime, Saudi Arabia and US hardliners pushed the new US government to withdraw from the JCPOA,” continued the President.

He said, “The university should play an important role in strategic issues”.

The President continued, “Victory in The Hague is not easy, but with the efforts of the country's lawyers, we have achieved valuable victories and the court voted in our favour”.

"This great nation is capable of achieving success in various sectors by using efficient people," said Dr Rouhani, saying it was difficult to succeed in The Hague.

Raising the question of "Can growth and development be achieved without interaction with others?", the President said, “Without interaction with the world we can live a life, but how about achieving growth and development?”

“Growth will not happen without interaction with the world. If there is no export and the banks are locked, development cannot be achieved,” he continued.

The President praised the friendly and neighbourly countries and some other countries that have cooperated and interacted with Iran despite the unjust US sanctions, adding, "Today we have trade and export transactions with other countries, and in these difficult times and economic warfare, we are entering an Asian union”.

Dr Rouhani emphasised, “I urge the universities to assist the government with all its expert opinions on all issues of the day, whether scientific or economic”.

"We must all help each other, academics are more responsible than others," said Dr Rouhani, adding, "We have no doubt that we will overcome the problems with our collective efforts"