The Malaviya Mission-Teacher Training Centre (MMTTC), erstwhile University Grants Commission-Human Resource Development Centre (UGC-HRDC), University of Kashmir (KU) in collaboration with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division, Ministry of Education (MoE) Saturday held a valedictory function culminating the six-day short term training programme on IKS here at the varsity’s main campus.
Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof Nilofer Khan said that the New Education Policy (NEP)-2020 makes it imperative to introduce the subject as a full-fledged academic and research programme and that it is the need of the hour to know about our cultural roots by introducing IKS in the curriculum.
She said, “Our university is the first to introduce the NEP-2020 in letter and spirit in all the affiliated colleges and UGC-HRDC, now Malaviya Mission-Teacher Training Centre (MMTTC), KU, will be pivotal in training faculty and teachers in this particular subject.”
While acknowledging the contributions of the UGC-HRDC (now MMTTC) during the COVID-19 pandemic in organising online training programmes, Prof Khan also appreciated the efforts of the organisers for choosing KU for conducting an effective training programme that connected the teaching fraternity with the past to realise the potential of their rich culture.
“The centre is one of the oldest and premier institutes committed to academic and research activities promoting teacher-training and faculty-development programmes (FDP),” Prof Khan said, adding that more such training programmes will be conducted in the future as well.
Deputy Secretary, UGC, Dr. Diksha Rajput appreciated the efforts of the MMTTC, KU for organising the event that according to her “will reinstate the hidden Indian knowledge and bring it back to the Indian academic canvas.”
She stressed the need to carry back the knowledge and experiences, the participants learnt during the course, to their respective workplaces and hoped the centre would organise more such programmes so that the IKS evolves as an interdisciplinary subject.
Faculty Training Programme (FTP) Coordinator, IKS, MoE, Dr Anurag Deshpande highlighted the importance of introducing the Indian knowledge systems to the higher education teaching fraternity.
While thanking the university for helping organise the event, Dr Anurag Deshpande, appreciated the efforts of the MMTTC and applauded the way the course was coordinated.
Speaking about the importance of the six-day training programme that exposed the participants to their indigenous cultural roots, Director MMTTC, Prof Mushtaq Ahmad Darzi highlighted the role of the centre in elevating the teaching standards of higher education departments across India.
Twenty five (25) resource persons from reputed organisations across India and specialised in various facets of the Indian Knowledge Systems trained around two hundred (200) participants from Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
The participants also shared their experiences and views regarding the course and were extremely overwhelmed by the course content and structure of the workshop.