J&K Governor for making universities seats of excellence

The Governor, who is the Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, was chairing a meeting of the Council of the University here last evening.

The Governor asked the Vice Chancellors of the Kashmir and Jammu Universities to identify the areas of learning which require enhanced attention for capacity building. He added that there is an urgent need to lay greater emphasis on designing courses, particularly in the tourism, hospitality and IT sectors, for enhancing the employability of the youth within the State. The Governor reiterated the need for closer coordination between the two Universities, by sharing their expertise and experience to optimally benefit the youth of the State. He also stressed the need for evolving appropriate strategies to harness the unexploited potential in implementing programmes of Distance Education without compromising the educational standards.

Referring to the introduction of new academic courses, the Governor said that the Universities should consider providing the required advice regarding the job market trends at the admission stage so that the students are able to arrive at informed choices about usefulness of pursuing given academic courses. He also called for continuous upgradation of teaching skills of the teachers by exposing them to the refresher and orientation courses on a regular basis. He observed that there should be effective linkages between the Universities and the school education sector, with a view to securing the services of well qualified teachers, particularly in the disciplines of Mathematics, Science and English, at the higher secondary level.

The Governor lauded the initiative taken by the Kashmir University to launch the Online Feedback Forum and said that such a facility could provide a valuable interface between the student community and the University administration.

The University Council, during its 4-hour long meeting, deliberated, interalia, on the proposal for setting up the Centre for e-Governance and e-Services. The functioning of the private B.Ed Colleges was discussed at great length. The Governor, as Chancellor of the Kashmir and Jammu Universities, cautioned against any dilution of the entrance level qualifications for those joining the B. Ed Courses.  

The Minister for Higher Education,  Abdul Gani Malik, speaking on the occasion, put forth several suggestions to improve the quality of higher education in the State. This, he said, is imperative to equip our boys and girls with the required knowledge to compete in the job market. 

The Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof. Riyaz Punjabi, in his presentation, presented details of the various achievements of the varsity.

 The meeting was attended by the Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu, Prof. Varun Sahni, Commissioner/Secretary, Finance,  Sudhanshu Pandey, Principal Secretary to the Governor,  Raj Kumar Goyal, Secretary, Higher Education, s. Tanveer Jahan, Registrar, University of Kashmir, Prof. Syed Fayyaz Ahmad, and other members of the University Council.

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