Srinagar: Principal Secretary Skill Development Department (SDD), Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, today said that time has come to reorient our Polytechnic colleges and Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) so that they become more attractive and job guaranteeing centres.
Dr Samoon asked the consultants, hired by the SDD for providing them the roadmap for making these institutions more viable and relevant under present circumstances. He urged them to study all the models adopted elsewhere and correlate them with our circumstances to postulate solutions that are imperative and operative in nature.
The Principal Secretary asked them that they should visit skill institutions all over J&K before drawing any conclusions. He exhorted upon them that their report should be a kind of SWOT analysis in which all our weaknesses and threats are highlighted with corresponding corrective measures suggested against each of them.
Dr Samoon asked the consultants to talk to the faculty, students, industries as well as other professionals here to guage the actual loopholes afflicting our institutions. He encouraged them to examine all the aspects like curriculum, faculty, infrastructure and machinery available in these institutions and see if all of it is relevant and used optimally.
The Principal Secretary impressed upon them to make this exercise an outcome based one that is in coherence with our expectations. He enjoined upon them to submit the interim report within three months and final report not after the expiry of six months period.
The consultants made a presentation on the nature and scope of work they want to carry out. They gave out that there are several areas they want to study before tabling their report. These include demand assessment of industries and market, aspiration mapping of aspirants and post training trails of students and scope and area of improvements and up gradations.
On the occasion, a MoU was also signed between the SDD and Delhi based consultancy firm which officially marked the beginning of this premier exercise.
The Principal Secretary also reviewed the progress of updation of recruitment rules going on through department of ARI & Trainings. He asked the concerned to finalise the same forthwith so that promotions and future recruitments are carried out in the department.
Samoon also took appraisal of recruitments to be made by the Services Selection Board. He directed the Secretary, JKSSB to culminate the selection on all the referred posts of the department on fast track basis. He also directed for referring all the vacant posts to the board especially the teaching positions. He maintained that efficient manpower is prerequisite for optimal utilization of infrastructure and other assets meant for imparting training to students. He asked the officers to reconcile with board the posts referred till date and pending referral on their part in this week only.
The meeting was attended by Secretary in Skill Development Department, Nazim Zia Khan; Director SDD, Sudershan Kumar and representatives from ARI & Trainings, Law, School Education, Higher Education and JKSSB.
