Calling for expediting reforms in the higher education, Minister of Education, Naeem Akhtar today said the government will further strengthen financial autonomy of the State’s Universities to ensure quality education to the students.The Minister was speaking at a meeting to discuss financial reforms in the University of Kashmir and University of Jammu. He said the government has taken up various steps to increase the base of higher education and raise the quality of academia to global standards.The meeting was attended by Vice Chancellors of Kashmir and Jammu University, Commissioner Secretary Finance, Commissioner Secretary Higher Education and other officials.The Minister assured the Vice Chancellors that the government will provide full support to both the universities in their endeavor to raise new infrastructure, start new courses, improve the curricula, begin new research projects and other steps.
The Vice Chancellors raised concern that the annual hike in their budget from state government is limited to 10 percent which has a potential to arrest the growth of the universities due to inability to hire new faculty. The Minister assured the meeting that the state government will devise a financial model where Universities will be encouraged to raise their own resources whereas any deficit will be covered through the state budget.The Minister asked the Universities to expedite the reforms in education by removing those faculty positions of subjects that are outdated and adding the new faculty positions that are in vogue in market. He said the need of the hour is to produce job creators and not job seekers besides producing human resource that will bring positive change to entire socio-economic scenario of the state.