Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday chaired the first meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council here and stressed on the need to develop a pragmatic roadmap to enhance the potential of human resources and progressively transform universities into economic growth centres.
“Our Higher Education ecosystem needs to re-align itself to meet the needs of the present-day challenges and be fully geared to participate in the development taking place in different sectors of the Union Territory,” Sinha said.
The LG advised for expanding collaborations with other stakeholders, especially in the sectors like agriculture and tourism.
“Increased technological input in agriculture is the need of the hour. Universities need to closely work with this sector, facilitate mechanization and undertake value-added tasks for economic connectivity and prosperity of the villages,” he said.
The participants in the meeting gave their suggestions on the reforms and necessary interventions required for improving quality of learning and teaching in the Higher Education sector of the UT, an official spokesman said.
He said the meeting held a threadbare discussion on the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP)- 2020 in the colleges and universities across J&K UT; improving accountability and responsiveness in the system; encouraging research, innovation, skill development, capacity building, competitiveness; enhancing employability; integrating technology for transforming education; multidisciplinary education, flexibility and student mobility and increasing access through digital Learning.
Sinha said the aim is to create a global cadre of skilled youth and colleges, universities need to make them competitive and also bridge the employable skill gap.
Seeking suggestions from the members of the council for better utilization of the education budget, Sinha said the government will ensure effective implementation of the recommendations of the Council.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to LG; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Dr. Dinesh Singh, former VC Delhi University; Prof. Umesh Rai, VC University of Jammu; Prof. Nilofar Khan, VC University of Kashmir; Prof. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, VC IUST; Prof. Akbar Masood, VC BGSBU; Prof. Najma Akhtar, VC Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Prof. G. Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Dr. Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, Principal ICSC, Srinagar and Dr. Vishal Sharma, Principal GDC Bani attended the meeting and gave their suggestions on the reforms and necessary interventions required for improving quality of learning and teaching in the Higher Education sector of the UT.
Discussions were also held on the role of higher education in implementation of Gati Shakti, policy formation, vision 2047; conducting teacher-student exchange programmes; mapping and sharing of resources, collaborations and MoUs with International Institutions; adopting best practices; encouraging climate change study; identifying gaps and preparing actions plans accordingly.
The meeting further discussed encouraging students’ participation, especially girls in sports, cultural and other such activities.
Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department presented a detailed overview of the Higher Education sector in the UT, roadmap for institutional accreditations and future readiness of the department.
He informed about the capacity-building, training and mentoring programmes; student feedback and faculty evaluation, growth and development mechanisms; gross enrolment and gender parity ratio; Aadhar-based biometric attendance system for teachers; adoption of e-Samarth in colleges and universities and registration of students with Academic Bank of Credits.
“All eligible colleges will ensure NAAC Accreditation in academic year-2022-23. We are also ensuring that the Uniform Academic Calendar for the UT will be followed in letter and spirit,” he added.
