Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo, today emphasised the critical importance of nurturing creativity and innovative mind-set among the students in order to aspire for a economically developed Jammu and Kashmir.

The Minister made these comments while addressing School Education department’s (SED) ‘PRAGAASH-Nurturing Innovation Ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir’ event at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here today.

The event was organised by SED in collaboration with NITI AYOG, UNICEF and Pi-Jam Foundation with an objective of fostering a thriving innovation culture and creating a conducive ecosystem for students and tech enthusiasts in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the large gathering of Principals, Chief Education officers, Lecturers, Chief Masters, Teachers and young minds, Sakeena Itoo stressed on the critical importance of nurturing creativity and mind-set of young school going children in order to bring about transformative change in Jammu and Kashmir’s socio-economic fabric. “The system of education is changing and days of gaining knowledge behind closed doors are gone. Young, bright school going children are now more interested in innovations and practicals apart from regular classroom activities”, she said.

The Minister added that the standard of education in government schools is changing now and is at par with any private school these days. “The statistics are evident that the government schools have produced a good number of students who have displayed their innovative products at national arena”, Sakeena said.

While commending the students of J&K for innovative products on display during Pragaash, the Minister said that these creations of young minds are related to different spheres of our society like agriculture, horticulture, health care and we need to nurture them so that they can be turned into reality. She called upon the school education department, mentors and other stakeholders to handhold and guide these young minds for replicating their products into successful commodities for public use.

The Minister also stressed on the education department and other concerned stakeholders to organise such programmes on regular basis so that the spark of innovation in our young minds is continuously lit up.

Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary, SED, Suresh Kumar Gupta, said that the department is dedicated to provide such platforms to school children in order to hone their talent and showcase their hidden abilities.

Addressing the gathering, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, Chintan Vaishnav said that J&K is leading the Nation with innovations. He informed the gathering that against the national average of 3.18%, 36.33 % eligible schools participated in ATL marathon.

In his address, Director School Education Kashmir, Dr. G.N Itoo outlined various initiatives of the department to boost innovation ecosystem from the school level.

During the event, the Minister also felicitated students for having performed remarkably in different aspects of the event. She also felicitated the teachers and other stakeholders.

Earlier, the Minister visited the stalls displaying innovative products of more than 100 schools of Jammu and Kashmir. She interacted with the students and assured them assistance for replicating their products into successful commodities.