Srinagar, Nov 25 (KNO): The University of Kashmir and the Central University of Kashmir jointly organised a seminar-cum-webinar on Wednesday on implementation of the National Education Policy-2020 in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
According to a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad presided over the national-level conference, organised by the departments of Education of the two universities to identify key issues in implementing the NEP provisions, with special reference to school and higher education systems.
The NEP-2020, Prof Talat said, is a game-changer flagship programme which focuses on encouraging and promoting creativity, innovation, skill-development and research inquisitiveness among students right from the elementary level to enable them to meet the global benchmarks on academics and research.
He said that digital education is a buzzword in today’s academic world and it’s time to remove bottlenecks in ensuring digital revolution in education across J&K in line with the NEP objectives.
CUK Vice-Chancellor Prof Mehraj-ud-Din Mir was the chief-guest on the occasion and highlighted the role of the universities’ departments of education in shaping the UT’s education system by enabling timely implementation of NEP-2020.
He said the KU and CUK will hold more such seminars and involve eminent academicians from across the country to formulate a concrete roadmap on early NEP implementation in the UT.
Prof Anita Rampal, former Dean, Central Institute of Education University of Delhi, delivered the keynote address. “We need to look at social trajectories, knowledge construction, institutional autonomy and student mentoring to make the 21st century learner relevant and competitive in the global market,” she said.
KU Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir and CUK Registrar Prof Mohammad Afzal Zargar emphasised on imparting-skill-based education and training to students, while instilling a culture of patenting in universities and colleges.
KU’s Dean College Development Council Prof G M Sangmi said: “We need to make our education systems attune to increasing the students’ employability and entrepreneurship prospects”.
Dean School of Education and Behavioural Sciences at KU Prof Showkat Ahmad Shah coordinated the event, while Prof Taslema Jan, Head, Department of Education, presented a welcome address.
Dean, School of Education at CUK Dr Syed Zahoor Ahmad Geelani said academics need to be proactive in implementing the NEP to ensure that all learners have access to quality education and research.
The seminar-cum-webinar was, among others, attended by noted academics including Prof Mehmood Ahmad Khan, Prof M I Mattoo, Prof Nighat Basu, administrators, teachers and research scholars from both KU and CUK, and many other academic institutions in the country (in online and offline modes).
Dr Firdous Ahmad Sofal from CUK presented a vote of thanks. Dr Mohammad Amin Dar from KU and Ms Saima Bashir from CUK were chief rapporteurs, while Dr Manzoor Ahmad Rather and Dr Mohammad Syed Bhat moderated the inaugural and technical sessions, respectively. Dr Aasiya Maqbool, Dr Gowhar Ahmad and Ms Mary acted as rapporteurs—(KNO)