Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Masood today chaired a high level meeting at Civil Secretariat here in which she conducted comprehensive review of the performance and functioning of Universities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education, Dr. Rashmi Singh; Vice Chancellor Kashmir University, Prof. Nilofer Khan; Vice Chancellor, Jammu University, Prof. Umesh Rai; Vice Chancellor IUST, Prof. Shakeel Ahmad Ramshoo; Vice Chancellor, SMVDU, Dr. Pragati Kumar; Vice Chancellor, BGSBU, Prof. Jawaid Iqbal; Vice Chancellor Cluster University Srinagar, Prof. Mohammad Mobin; Vice Chancellor Cluster University Jammu, Prof. K.S Chandrashekar; Special Secretary Higher Education, Director Finance Higher Education, Director Planning Higher Education, Director Colleges J&K and other concerned officers of the department.

During the meeting, the Minister took comprehensive assessment of several critical aspects of Universities like infrastructure, faculty performance, student satisfaction, research output as well as the overall administrative framework.

In her remarks, Sakeena Masood highlighted the importance of academic excellence and innovation in higher education sector. She emphasized on the need for universities to enhance the quality of education and research in order to compete with global standards of education.

“ Our government is committed to enhance the quality of higher education and research in Universities of J&K. We all need to work in tandem to achieve the goal of making our Universities world class”, Sakeena Masood said.

She urged the Vice Chancellors to prioritize academic rigor and improve curriculum design to ensure that students receive a high-quality education. She called for a closer alignment between University curriculum and industry needs, especially in emerging fields like Artificial intelligence, digital technology, healthcare, tourism and entrepreneurship in order to prepare students for the emerging job market.

During the meeting, the Minister while having university wise review, called upon the Vice Chancellors to streamline the process of admissions so that maximum students are attracted towards varsities. She asked them to create awareness among the students, especially in far off areas using traditional media like radio, so that they can take desired courses in colleges and universities.

She also asked them to fix the issues and concerns which are hindering the admissions of foreign students in our Universities, especially Kashmir University.

The Minister also asked the VCs to complete the works on all ongoing projects in their respective universities timely, so that they can be dedicated for the use of students.

She asked the VC of Kashmir University to operationalise the newly constructed girls hostel at the earliest. She also asked the VC to maintain the offsite campuses of University so that the students are provided quality education.

During the meeting, the Minister commended the Vice Chancellors for their commitment to development of higher education sector in J&K. She assured them all possible support from the government.