To meet job demands, colleges told to introduce new subjects

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 7

To meet the growing market demands, the Department of Higher Education in Kashmir has asked the college heads to introduce new courses and subjects to increase the employability of the youth.

Higher officials have recommended that the courses to be introduced should cater to the job market by providing employability to the students. However, the Director Colleges and college principals have been told that the new subjects should be selected on the basis of resources in the colleges.

The directions were given to the principals of the colleges at a meeting attended by the Secretary, Higher Education Department, Talat Parvez Rohella.

“The subjects should be based on the demand by students whereby the minimum number of students shall be 20 or more and initially, the faculty may be arranged on the academic basis and as the demand increases, permanent faculty shall be deputed accordingly,” read the minutes of the meeting.

The directions said the committee, comprising director of colleges, should scrutinise these proposals and recommend the same, with necessary comments, to the Department of Higher Education. The committee should also submit the report to the administrative department regarding the introduction of environmental science as one of the core subjects in the degree college of the state.

“The Vocationalisation of higher education for quality enhancement and employability will be done. In this regard, technical, IT-based and other skills-based education may be introduced and promoted after active consultation with industrial/trade service/corporate sectors of the Valley. Also, centres on innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurship may be set up to explore the future prospects for the Valley youth,” it said.

Officials at the meeting also emphasised on the need to create career counseling and placement centres in all colleges to help students in finding suitable jobs and employment opportunities.

The principals have been asked to submit a report to the Special Secretary, Higher Education, in a fortnight about the functioning of these cells.

Students’ interest prime 

Colleges have been told that the subjects should be based on the demand by students, whereby the minimum number of students shall be 20 or more, and initially, the faculty may be arranged on the academic basis and as the demand increases, permanent faculty shall be deputed accordingly.