In a significant move to institutionalize structured youth engagement and promote holistic development among students, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo today chaired a high-level meeting of key stakeholders, during which the School Education Department and the Department of Culture unveiled a comprehensive and integrated Youth Engagement Drive across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The ambitious initiatives lay out a structured roadmap to engage more than 80,000 students and youth annually through school-based platforms, grassroots cultural institutions and national-level exchange programmes, thereby strengthening experiential learning, cultural preservation and talent development across J&K.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Culture; Commissioner Secretary, Youth Services & Sports; Commissioner Secretary, School Education; Secretary, Culture; Managing Director, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan; Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages; and other senior officers.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Secretary emphasized that co-curricular and cultural initiatives are as vital as academic curricula in shaping well-rounded individuals. He underscored the need for inter-departmental convergence, structured implementation and continuous monitoring at every level to ensure effective stakeholder engagement and measurable outcomes.
Detailing the Department of Culture’s roadmap, Principal Secretary, Culture, Brij Mohan Sharma informed the meeting that a comprehensive Youth Engagement and Empowerment Plan has been formulated to extend structured cultural activities to schools while revitalizing grassroots cultural ecosystems.
As part of this plan, School Cultural Clubs will be established in 2,530 Government High and Higher Secondary Schools, engaging over 63,000 students annually. Each club, comprising 25 students, will function under the mentorship of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages and serve as a platform for skill development, cultural training and nurturing of young cultural ambassadors.
To ensure deeper outreach at district and tehsil levels, District Cultural Committees will be constituted under the chairmanship of respective Additional District Development Commissioners, while Tehsil Cultural Clubs will be set up across 207 tehsils, engaging more than 10,000 youth annually.
These bodies will curate structured cultural calendars and organize workshops, exhibitions and heritage exposure visits to foster sustained participation and community involvement. A major highlight of the initiative is the “One District – One Traditional Art Form” programme, under which 27 district-specific traditional art forms have been identified for revival through a structured Guru-Shishya model.
Master trainers will mentor selected youth trainees for a period of one year, ensuring preservation of endangered traditions while creating professional pathways for emerging artists. Further strengthening social outreach, the Department will organize 200 Nukkad Natak (street play) programmes annually 100 each in Jammu and Srinagar addressing critical social issues such as drug abuse prevention, mental health awareness, gender sensitivity and civic responsibility.
Nearly 4,000 youth artists are expected to participate in these grassroots awareness campaigns across schools, colleges and community spaces. Additionally, two seven-day Youth Cultural Summits will be organized annually in Jammu and Srinagar under the banner of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, providing a national platform for cultural exchange and creative collaboration among young artists.
In a landmark academic intervention, a two-year Diploma Course in Calligraphy has been formalized in collaboration with the University of Kashmir, offering structured training in multiple classical scripts along with stipendiary support to enrolled students.
Complementing these efforts, the School Education Department, through the Jammu and Kashmir State Council of Educational Research and Training, will launch a flagship programme titled “Display Your Talent -Excellence in Culture, Sports, Education & Learning,” aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy 2020.
The initiative as elaborated by the Commissioner Secretary, School Education, Ram Niwas Sharma envisions holistic student development by integrating academics with arts, sports, skills and cultural learning. Covering more than 24,000 schools across 20 districts and 188 educational zones, the programme follows a five-tier progression model from school level to a grand UT-level finale ensuring systematic talent identification and advancement.
The engagement framework, he added, has been carefully structured according to age groups. At the foundational stage, activities will focus on storytelling, rhymes and fun-based sports. Preparatory classes will participate in spell bee competitions, junior logic exercises, folk dance and mini-games.
Middle-stage students will engage in science exhibitions, STEM challenges, kabaddi and classical or folk music competitions. It was revealed that at the secondary level, students will participate in policy parliament simulations, coding competitions, pro-league sports and theatre activities, fostering leadership, innovation and civic awareness.
To ensure inclusivity, a dedicated ‘Samarth’ Inclusive Framework has been incorporated to facilitate meaningful participation of Children With Special Needs through Braille support, sign language interpretation, inclusive sports and tactile arts.
The integrated framework marks a transformative step toward positioning Jammu & Kashmir as a vibrant hub of educational excellence and cultural renaissance, while ensuring that the youth of the Union Territory are equipped with creativity, confidence and character to shape a progressive future.