Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Monday said that it is the education that transforms human resources into valuable assets for the society and the country.
Speaking at Governors’ Conference on ‘Role of NEP-2020 in Transforming Higher Education’, LG underlined the importance of integrated development of children, and suggested that extra-curricular activities such as NSS, NCC, sports, music, etc., need to be made part of the curriculum and students should get credit of these activities.
In the conference which was also addressed by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the LG observed that the NEP-2020 could be effectively implemented if institutions are given freedom to redefine teaching positions as per need.
According to an official press release issued in this regard, the LG stressed on the need to lay special emphasis on students’ feedback on teaching. He said that the students’ feedback is globally practiced and it helps lend perspective to the teaching of pedagogical standards and practices of universities.
“Universities may be asked to explain how they have used students’ feedback. If they do not have this practice, they must implement it in a generic manner. The NAAC assessment requires this but universities tend to not implement this seriously, worrying that it can be misused against teachers,” he added.
During his address, the Lt Governor observed that ‘our priorities guide all policies and our policy decisions guide our destiny”.
He congratulated the Prime Minister and the Government of India for approving the new National Education Policy, which replaced the 34-year-old National Education Policy. He also complimented the Prime Minister for renaming Ministry of Human Resource Development as Ministry of Education.
“I personally believe that education is the biggest catalyst for change. When education is the guiding force behind human development, humans are no longer limited to a ‘resource’. They become ‘assets’ for the society,” he maintained.
The LG said that education as a holistic approach broadly focuses on the development of human consciousness, while education in terms of human resource development looks to be just a means to employment.
“This journey of becoming assets from mere resources is possible only when we ensure value-based education to our children. To understand your value system, you need to understand your roots, your tradition and rich cultural heritage, and to understand all these, you should know your mother tongue. The importance given to the mother tongue in the new national education policy will help our youth in this regard,” he added.
The LG also observed that the new education policy “is strengthening the vision of our Prime Minister ‘teach to transform, learn to leave and educate to empower’. This policy has blurred the division of schemes like science, commerce, humanities and social sciences.”
The LG quoted Guru Nanak ji’s saying – the education makes a person thoughtful and wise, so that he can live a life which is humane and philanthropic.
In the National Education Policy-2020, the development of skills, experience-based learning and rationality with special focus on issues like accessibility, equality, quality, affordability and accountability of education attention has also been given to encourage critical thinking.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a land of extremely talented people. The youth of Jammu and Kashmir have excelled in every field. Today, when we are witnessing a new dawn in Jammu and Kashmir, we want the youth of this state to be the pioneers of change. And, I think the new education policy will help them realize their true potential and make their dreams come true,” he continued.
“We live in an era where research and innovation are the keys to success and development. We want to make Jammu and Kashmir the centre of knowledge, enterprise, innovation and skill development.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to make India self-reliant. This is possible only when we make our youth self-reliant. And vocational training will play an important role in this regard,” he asserted.
The LG also said that there is a general but flawed belief that vocational education is inferior to mainstream education. The new education policy aims to change this perception and for this, it has been said to teach vocational subjects from Sixth Standard itself.
“With the new education policy, we will empower our youth so that they contribute significantly in nation-building,” the LG affirmed.
Pertinently, earlier in a meeting with Vice-Chancellors of the universities across J&K on August 14, the LG had asked them to prepare a roadmap for bringing qualitative improvement in the overall functioning of the universities and adopt J&K-centric changes as per the new education policy.
