Union Minister of State for Education, Sh Subhas Sarkar concluded his five-day visit to Kashmir today. He was on a tour to the Valley as part of the Union Government’s Public Outreach Programme.The Minister visited various educational institutions and held elaborate deliberations with officials and stakeholders during his extensive tour.Talking to the media upon conclusion of his tour, the Minister said that the purpose of the visit was to understand the ground realities of the education sector on the directions of the Prime Minister.Sh Sarkar expressed satisfaction with the way things are going and said that the education department will work in mission mode to improve and upgrade its performance in future.The Minister informed during the press conference that 75,000 tablets will be distributed by the Higher Education Department among all first year students of undergraduate courses.
In a similar manner, 2,000 tablets will be distributed among students belonging to tribal communities by the School Education Department.Sh Sarkar also said that Skill Development will be introduced as a subject and vocational courses will be started in all the colleges of the region in the near future. This, he said, will help students find employment after they complete their studies.Talking about upgradation of facilities in government run schools, the Minister informed the gathering that 2,000 kindergarten classrooms have been established in government schools of Jammu and Kashmir. This , he said, will help to bridge the gap between government and private schools when it comes to providing pre-primary education and early childhood care.The Minister also talked about the benefits Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme and urged upon all eligible to come forward and reap the benefits of this scheme.The Minister was accompanied by Sh Tassaduq Hussain, Director School Education and Smt Yasmeen Ashai, Director Colleges during the interaction.