SRINAGAR: In a significant move to strengthen higher education in J&K, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, today, chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the issues confronting various universities operating across the Union Territory.
The meeting aimed to accelerate the resolution of pending matters that were hindering the academic and infrastructural growth of these institutions.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Higher Education Department, Shantmanu; Principal Secretaries of the Finance, Public Works (R&B), and Agriculture Production Departments; Secretaries of Health and Rural Development; Divisional Commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir; Deputy Commissioners concerned; Managing Directors of JPDCL and KPDCL; Director General, Budget and other senior officials.
Vice Chancellors of all the major universities in J&K, both academic and agricultural, also participated.
During the deliberations, the Chief Secretary underscored the importance of timely intervention and seamless coordination between universities and line departments. He emphasized that institutions of higher learning deserve the utmost seriousness in addressing their issues, given their critical role in shaping the educational and innovation ecosystem of the UT.
He directed the Higher Education Department to document all innovative practices, including research projects, patents, start-ups and other unique academic initiatives, being undertaken across these institutions. Such documentation, he said, would help in knowledge sharing and replication of successful models elsewhere in the UT.
In a significant push for human resource development, the Chief Secretary also urged the universities to design crash courses for the capacity building of government employees across departments. He further directed for mapping of all skill development and vocational courses being offered, to help align academic offerings with market and governance needs.
The ACS, Higher Education, provided an overview of the key issues affecting the universities. He also highlighted the problems that have already been addressed through inter-departmental coordination.
Taking a university-wise assessment, the Chief Secretary engaged directly with each Vice Chancellor to understand institution-specific bottlenecks. These included issues related to land transfers, creation of academic and non-teaching posts, allocation of additional funds, infrastructure augmentation, delays in ongoing construction works and other operational challenges.
The Chief Secretary issued on-spot directions to the concerned departments for resolving these issues in a time-bound and mission-mode manner, underscoring the need for expedited action.
The participating universities included University of Kashmir, University of Jammu, Cluster University Srinagar, Cluster University Jammu, Central University of Kashmir, Central University of Jammu, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University (BGSBU) and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Kashmir/Jammu.
The Chief Secretary concluded the meeting by reiterating the government’s commitment towards strengthening the higher education and research infrastructure in the UT. He directed all the stakeholders to ensure continuous engagement and monitoring to overcome any hurdle faced by these vital institutions.
