Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said a special drive will be launched to vaccinate students aged above 18 years on priority to enable educational institutions to reopen in the Union Territory.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at SKICC here, Sinha said most of the teachers have already been vaccinated against Covid.
“We are trying to vaccinate students aged above 18 years on priority and professors and teachers in the academic institutions as well because the aim is to restart the institutions,” he said.
A special drive will be conducted for the vaccination of students above the age of 18 as most of the teachers have already been vaccinated, Sinha said.
Asked about the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, the LG said “all is well”, without commenting further.
Earlier, Sinha released a book titled “Analysis of Accreditation Report of Union Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh” by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) at SKICC.
Speaking on the occasion, the LG termed the assessment and accreditation process as an important factor to maintain the quality of education in universities and colleges.
Sinha said the publication will work as an intelligent assistant for academicians, vice-chancellors, professors and students.
Highlighting the need to introduce new reforms to meet the requirements of the rapidly transforming education system and the changing market dynamics, he said the university and colleges have immense power and a small shift in curriculum can have a decisive impact on the socio-economic environment.
“The future belongs to those students and teachers who can realise their full potential and adapt to rapidly changing requirements,” he said.
“As we are heading towards an era which will be dominated by the knowledge economy, our biggest asset would be the human capital, a combination of talent, skill and creativity. We are making efforts to continuously improve the courses in universities and colleges, incorporating students’ feedback to create a conducive environment for learning and innovation,” Sinha said.
The aim is to empower every student with technical and social skills to develop entrepreneurial thinking, he said, adding that the UT administration is consistently reforming the educational system with new tools to produce required skill sets.
“Also, critical thinking and life-long learning process through offline and online mode is being promoted so that our youth can contribute in making Jammu Kashmir Aatma-Nirbhar,” he added.
Pointing out some of the important observations made in the analysis, the LG stressed on the need to improve the student-feedback mechanism and put in place a systemised and scientifically analysed system.
“This feedback system needs to be implemented as a constructive, public participation and contribution to society in order to inculcate a mix of skills and values in the student,” he added.
Sinha also emphasised special focus on various aspects of the modern education system, including introduction of interdisciplinary and short-term courses; promoting student-diversity, research and innovation, student mentoring, besides strengthening academia-industry connect and continuously upgrading of skill sets to develop the youth into a multi-skilled human capital.
He also advised for accreditation and re-accreditation of universities and colleges.
“The criteria including curriculum as per today’s standard, teaching-learning and evaluation, research, infrastructure and learning resources, student support, governance, leadership and management, innovative and best practices are essential for the higher educational institutions to do an in-depth analysis and know about their strengths & weaknesses, and make further improvements,” he added.
On the occasion, the LG congratulated the authorities, faculty members, and students of University of Kashmir and University of Jammu for securing A+ grade.
He called for doubling the efforts on part of the Universities across J&K to improve their standings in NIRF and other such ranking frameworks.
Prof. Mehraj-ud-Din Mir, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir delivered the welcome address and highlighted the measures taken by the university for implementation of National Education Policy.
Prof. S.C Sharma, Director NAAC shared his views on the occasion through a video message.
Meanwhile, Prof. Amiya Kumar Rath, Advisor NAAC, and Dr. S. Srikanata Swamy, Academic Expert spoke on J&K specific recommendations and observations made in the analysis report.
Dr. Wahidul Hasan, Senior Communication & Publication officer, NAAC delivered the Vote of Thanks.
Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Vice Chancellors of various universities; senior government officials; HoDs and Deans from universities and colleges were present on the occasion.
