Advisor to the Governor, Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, Tuesday stressed upon the need for introduction of new and skill based courses in the universities and colleges in Jammu & Kashmir. He emphasized upon updating the academic curriculum at the Degree and Post-Graduate levels to bring these at par with the best in the country to provide more opportunities to the youth of the State.The Advisor made these remarks while chairing a high-level meeting of the Higher Education Department. The meeting was attended by Financial Commissioner, Finance, Mr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of IUST, Prof. Mushtaq Ahmad Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor of Cluster University, Jammu, Prof. Anju Bhasin, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Mr. Baseer Ahmad Khan, Secretary, Higher Education, Mr. Talat Pervez, Registrar of Jammu University, Prof. R. K. Ganjoo, Registrar of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad Zarri, Registrar, SMVDU and Registrar of Cluster University, Srinagar, Abdul Hamid,Advisor Ganai, who is incharge of the Higher Education Department informed the participants that many universities and institutions in the country were offering new courses to enable students to develop and improve their competitiveness for various opportunities and examinations both within and outside the country. He said that the students from the colleges and universities of J&K should be provided opportunities to opt for new and advanced courses both at the graduate and post-graduate level which shall enhance their ability to go for higher studies and get admissions in the reputed universities, both within and outside the country.
The Vice-Chancellors agreed to introduce new courses in their respective universities and affiliated colleges. The Secretary, Higher Education Department agreed to constitute a committee comprising Director Colleges and Deans of various universities for preparation of a report for introduction of new courses. The Secretary further stated that the department is in the process of creating a large number of posts in the Higher Education Department and the universities and also provide funds for improvement and augmentation of the infrastructure. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir and Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal agreed to have additional land identified in Ganderbal district for the Central University of Kashmir. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir also assured full support in the identification of the land for colleges in Kashmir Division.The Advisor impressed upon the VCs to improve the quality of higher education in the state. The VCs of the Cluster Universities were asked to take urgent steps to improve the quality of education in the affiliated colleges in two cities of Jammu and Srinagar and to ensure the success of the new 5-year integrated courses introduced by them. The Advisor impressed upon the need to develop 50-60 colleges as ‘Model Colleges and Colleges of Excellence’ in the first phase so that other colleges could also be developed as such.