Ladakh chief secy calls for introduction of advanced skill courses, AI training

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Friday chaired a review meeting of the school education, higher education, technical education and skill development departments to assess progress, challenges, and future roadmaps for strengthening the education and skill ecosystem in the Union territory.

Stressing the importance of future-ready skills, Kundra called for the introduction of advanced skill courses by engaging experts from outside, including focused training in artificial intelligence, noting that technology adoption today is easier and significantly enhances employability.

He also highlighted the need for specialised trainings relevant to Ladakh’s unique context, such as high-altitude skill development and hotel management.

The Chief Secretary further directed that all developmental and educational initiatives undertaken by the administration be properly documented and visualised for record-keeping and institutional memory, underlining their long-term importance.

To improve classroom practices and learning outcomes, he suggested organising district-wise teachers’ conferences with structured presentations aimed at promoting effective teaching methodologies.

Emphasising accountability and ground-level monitoring, Kundra instructed that Tehsildars, SDMs, and other officers must mandatorily inspect remote schools to review their conditions, with such inspections being reflected in their Annual Confidential Reports, to ensure sustained improvement in school education across the Union territory.

During the meeting, Kundra also laid strong emphasis on developing end-to-end entrepreneurship models in Ladakh. He directed that the pashmina trade be taken up in project mode, with a complete value-chain and mission-mode approach, involving local entrepreneurs to maximise economic benefits for the region. He instructed the departments to ensure registration with Startup India and to organise a large-scale startup conclave to promote innovation and enterprise.

Earlier, Bhanu Prabha, Secretary, School Education Department, made a detailed presentation outlining the overall status of education in the Union territory.

The presentation covered the current status of schools, teachers and students, the total number of schools and enrolment figures, overall enrolment in government schools, and the evolving school education ecosystem in the UT.

She also highlighted key initiatives undertaken by the department, along with the approved budgets and expenditures under Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, and PM POSHAN schemes. The status of residential schools and hostels was reviewed, along with challenges faced in implementation.

Prabha further informed that a significant improvement in academic results has been observed after the transition from JKBOSE to CBSE, benefiting students in terms of competitiveness and learning outcomes.

The discussion on higher education focused on the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA), MoUs with IITs to enhance higher education opportunities, the role of Sindhu Central University, and critical issues requiring attention for strengthening the sector.

The Technical Education and Skill Development Department provided an overview of its mandate, ongoing short-term training programmes, and initiatives such as “Enterprising Ladakh” aimed at promoting employability and entrepreneurship among youth.

She informed that the UT had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) last year, which has already shown encouraging results with the progress of nearly 150 startups.