Minister for Education Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari today said that the government has given go- ahead to University of Jammu for starting own Engineering College and for the purpose the varsity has been provided Rs 2.50 crore as initial grant-in-aid.Addressing civil society members, parents, students and teachers here at the annual day function of Mahant Bachitttar Singh College of Engineering and Technology, the Minister said the move has come after the government decided to keep the twin engineering colleges established in Kathua and Ganderbal under RUSA, under the control of Higher Education Department.Secretary School Education, Farooq Ahmed Shah, Director School Education, Jammu Ravinder Singh and senior faculty members of Government College for Engineering and Technology (GCET), Jammu were also present at the function.Asserting that the state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, has accorded top priority to education, he said the engineering college at Safapora, in Ganderbal and Janglote in district Kathua have already started function with sixty seats each. He said the prime aim of opening new institution is to provide adequate opportunity for the growth and development of all potential students.“Our target is to revamp the existing education system to make it compatible with the present day challenges” he asserted and said that government is in the process of implementation of a comprehensive road map to meet the infrastructure and faculty requirements at all levels. He hoped that the in the coming years the sector would witness a discernible change.
Hailing the host college for having sprawling campus with adequate infrastructure, the Minister said the government would extend every support to the private institutions in consonance to the norms. “I assure you that government will give permission for running M Tech courses to private institutions if they meet the infrastructure and other standards”, he said while responding to the demand of the management of the host college.“Every institution is for the benefit for our own youth and government has no reservations in permitting the private institutions to offer courses if these meet the set standards” the Minister said and asked the management to apply for the same and assured that the government will take the decision as per the set norms.The Minister appreciated the efforts and long journey of Mahant Bachitttar Singh for achieving his dream of establishing a prestigious institution.Earlier, the Minister interacted with the college students who have put up different models on innovative ideas for bringing improvement in existing technology used in day today life.The Minister asked the students to give their ideas a practical shape as it will help them to grow and serve the society.