The Department of Higher Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) for up-skilling of students enrolled at the Cluster Universities of Srinagar and Jammu at SPMR College Jammu.The MoU is part of the department’s initiative of up skilling the undergraduates across J&K by embedding skill courses in the curriculum or offering them as Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Degrees while they graduate from the institutions of higher learning, a statement said adding many sectors like agriculture, horticulture, fashion technology, paramedical, pharmacy, nursing and food technology had been identified in this regard.Bemina Degree College, Srinagar joined the ceremony through virtual mode.Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education,Talat Parvez, while highlighting the significance of the MoU informed that the department has taken various initiatives to ensure that the workforce of tomorrow has future ready skills. The youth need to be motivated to develop a quality of self development and self entrepreneurship, he added. In this regard, he informed that the new initiatives of Higher Education Department which are in sync with New Industrial Policy of the J&K and the National Education Policy, introduced recently, shall in the longer run make huge impact on the skilling of the youth.
Director Colleges Jammu and Kashmir, Professor M Y Peerzada, underscored the importance of skill development programs which greatly help in developing industrial, entrepreneurial and social skills in students as per the requirements of market. He said that the department is working on developing existing faculty in various skills and Principals have been empowered to take the services of any faculty across the country who has expertise in the selected skill. He appreciated Principals of host colleges for taking a lead in skill enhancement pursuits.President ICSI, CS Ashish Garg, in his remarks, stated that the corporate world is in dire need of youth with problem solving skills. He assured that his institution will extend all support for successful implementation of MoU for larger benefit of students of Jammu & Kashmir.Pertinently, the department of Higher education has signed MoUs with partner institutions like SKUAST (K), IIHM, SKIMS, Institute of Music and Fine Arts, JK Academy of Art Culture and Languages, IUST, Central University Kashmir, University of Kashmir and National Institute of Fashion Technology. The areas of collaboration are imparting skill to the undergraduates in the domains of IT and ITES, Food Technology, Hospitality and Catering, Pharmacy, Paramedical, Fashion Technology, Mass Communication and Journalism, Company Secretary, Cost accountancy. About 13 MoUs have so far been signed with different institutions for skill enhancement and one MoU with My transform for placements.