Srinagar: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, today asserted that the contribution of Polytechnic Colleges and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) should be maximised and their linkages with industrial establishments be strengthened by introducing new trades and courses which are viable in today’s industrial world.
Advisor made these comments while chairing a meet to review the performance of Skill Development Department (SDD) at Civil Secretariat here.
Principal Secretary SDD, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon; Secretary Tribal Affairs and Mission Director Skill Development Mission, Dr. Shahid Iqbal Choudhary; Director SDD, Sudershan Kumar; Secretary Board of Technical Education; Joint Director SDD and other senior officials attended the meeting both in person and online.
Advisor Bhatnagar directed the officers to provide quality education and training to the aspirants at these institutes so that they imbibe better skills and get placed in best industrial establishments. He observed that the Skill Development Department has a pivotal role to play in providing requisite skills to young people and make them self-sustainable to overcome the problem of unemployment in J&K.
Asserting that education and skill-building are the core means for empowering youth, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the concerned officers to work with utmost efforts to ensure youth emancipation by way of imparting requisite proficiency. He asked them to facilitate the youth of Jammu and Kashmir at all levels in order to make them skilled and coherent with the modern industrial standards.
Advisor delved upon the officers to introduce those courses and trades which are market-driven and are in high demand in the industrial sector.
While reviewing performance and progress of Polytechnic Colleges and ITIs across J&K, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the officers that the course and trades at these institutes should be upgraded as per the requirements of the industry besides equipments and machinery as per modern standards should be installed in these institutions.
Highlighting the need for upgrading the infrastructure at these training institutes, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the officers to carry out performance audit of all institutes in terms of infrastructure, facilities, trades and courses offered, so that better outcomes and desired results are achieved. He asked the officers to form expert groups of all trades and review the facilities and trades offered in all ITIs within 15 days so that they can be upgraded as per requirements.
Remarking that there is a dire need to study linkages of SDD with other departments, Advisor stressed upon the officers to work on linkages between Skill Development, School Education department and Higher Education department as per the National Education Policy-2020.
He impressed upon the officers to start orientation in schools and colleges regarding Skill Development courses offered by the department in ITIs and Polytechnic colleges so that maximum students are attracted towards these courses. He further asked the officers to prepare the students for making innovations in the traditional handicrafts and handloom products so that they get refurbished in consonance with modern trends in fashion industry.
Speaking during the meeting, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon said that the process of upgradation of infrastructure at various ITIs and Polytechnics is going on in full pace besides 18 new polytechnic colleges have also been made functional.
Dr. Samoon highlighted that the SDD is going to start new trades in several ITIs and Polytechnics like Database System Assistant, Technician Mechatronics, Cloud Computing, Software Testing Assistant, Robotics Engineers etc which are very unique, modern and demanding as per the current industrial growth.
Director SDD, through a presentation, informed the Advisor about different aspects of the department and the progress achieved under various sectors.
