Minister for Information Technology, Technical Education and Higher Education, Imran Raza Ansari today called upon educationists and academicians to work jointly to raise the quality of education in the state.Reviewing performance of Higher Education Department (HED) here at a meeting attended by senior officers and heads of colleges, the Minister asked the principals to work jointly towards revamping education system at all levels and in every area of the state. He underlined the need for academic collaboration with reputed institutions of the country to help the state to bring some remarkable improvement in the existing education system.Stressing on the need for raising the quality of education, Ansari said that the college heads must focus on quality rather than quantity. “Overcrowded campus is of no use till the students don’t get the quality of education which will help them to face the future challenges” the Minister asserted.Ansari said that education is priority sector of this Government and dereliction in duty even by a single person cannot be tolerated.
The Minister emphasized the need for involving all stakeholders, including parents, teachers and local legislators for further streamlining this vital sector on which the development of a strong state depends.“If we have to transform our colleges and universities into world class institutions, we must safeguard the interests of our young researchers, scholars and students,” he said and added that the J&K’s higher education sector is faced by many challenges which need to be met with a collective approach.Ansari stressed on developing special courses for the students of the rural areas in order to enable them to compete with their counterparts in the urban areas. “There is a need for collective efforts and a well-knit strategy to improve the standard of curriculum in rural institutions of higher education,” he added.Meanwhile, the Minister interacted with the Principals and sought their suggestions for revamping the higher education sector. He said that the government will take substantial steps to bring changes in this sector on the ground level.The Minister announced that the government will provide every possible help to the College heads if they want to go for academic refresher courses. Ansari also directed the executing agencies to complete the ongoing projects in different institutions.