Minister for Finance, Culture, Labour & Employment, Dr Haseeb Drabu today launched the first ever Public Libraries e-learning initiative to provide quality coaching and comprehensive solutions to the students aspiring to appear in NEET, JEE and CET.Under the novel initiative, IT-enabled learning material, including video lectures, e-books and written notes, shall be made available free of cost in all the Government Libraries across the State to facilitate students crack NEET, JEE, CET and other competitive examinations.The program was launched at SPS Library here, where Secretary Culture, Dilshad Khan, Director Libraries J&K, Mukhtar-ul-Aziz, Executive Director Indian Public Libraries Movement (IPLM), Shubhangi Sharma and other officials were present.Terming the initiative a game-changer, the Finance Minister said 148 public libraries spread in every nook and corner of the state will be turned into centres of learning and excellence for the students. “The program is part of the initiative to revive the lost library culture in the state,” he said and urged the students to visit the libraries and make use of the dependable study material.
He said the biggest advantage of the program is that it doesn’t need continuous electricity or internet connection or even a teacher. He said a student anywhere in the state has to visit his nearest library, fill a form and avail the facility of tabs, computers and the expert-designed study material. He said the students will be continuously assessed online and they will be able to track their progress constantly.The Minister said the program will be particularly beneficial to the students from far flung areas where quality coaching facilities are not available. He said if rush of the students increases, the Department can get more tablets for the libraries. “A student can study a topic repeatedly without need of worrying about a missed lecture,” he said and lamented the fact that the state has lost the culture of meeting at public places and the latest initiative can be a step towards reviving the stagnant library culture.The Minister urged the students to surround themselves with books and learn not only the curriculum but other things like history and culture of world and Jammu and Kashmir too. He said public libraries will be equipped with different sections for students, children and elderly people too.
The Minister said the aim is to take the local students at par with students at New Delhi or other metropolitan city. He said the students should not only contribute to their career but to the society as well.Dr Drabu said the Department has shortlisted the study material from Plancess – a single platform for all entrance examinations - after searching for the same from different educational platforms. The experts from Plancess were also present at the launch of the initiative here and interacted with the students. They said the experts at Plancess who comprise top 100 IIT qualifiers of previous years would be always available for the students from J&K to help them in their studies or queries. The organisers informed that 2500+ hours of video lectures, 75000 questions with answers, 150 e-books and hard books will be made available to students free of cost at the libraries under this initiative.On the occasion a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between Libraries Department and IPLM to upgrade the public libraries in the state with high-tech infrastructure. The libraries will also be equipped to provide career counselling facilities besides aiding in studies.