KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, March 17: DIET Srinagar has organised a two-days workshop on ‘Gudiance and Counseling: Innovative Ecosystems & Entrepreneurial Skills with reference to NEP 2020’ at DIET Srinagar with faculty from newly formed clusters on 13-14 March, 2023.
According to a statement issued to Kashmir Despatch, Ms. Nusrat Gilani (Senior Academic Officer, DIET Srinagar) welcomed the participants to the workshop and shared an insightful overview of the various sessions to be conducted during the workshop.
She highlighted the significance of developing and evolving innovative ecosystems in school clusters as well as bringing forth and nurturing entrepreneurial skills among students at all levels as envisioned in NEP 2020.
Principal, DIET, Ms.Tahira Hilali, in her keynote address stressed the need for establishing Guidance and Counseling Cells in respective school clusters. She highlighted the need of conducting counseling workshops at cluster level so that students are actively involved in career orientation programs so as to become aware of the plethora of opportunities available to them. She emphasized the significance of art integration in teaching core subjects while at the same time underscoring the need to impart entrepreneurial and green skills for Industry 4.0 to students.
Mr. Fida Gulzar Ahmad, DLRP /SLA, SCERT underlined the significance of undertaking counseling for adolescent students given the biological and psychological changes associated with that age group. He explained the concepts of competition crisis, personality disorders and aggressive mood swings among adolescents and laid down the basic techniques and tools that could be used to handle such issues in students. The speaker shared detailed statistics regarding the prevalence of addiction among youth and the accompanying effects of addiction on the individual in particular and the society at large. He stressed upon the immediate need of encouraging counseling through professionally trained clinical psychologists to arrest the worrying rise in addiction among adolescents.
Azhar Suharwardi, Assistant Handicrafts Training Officer, conducted a thought-provoking session on ‘Art Integrated Learning (AIL) and Promotion of Local Arts in Educational Institutions’. The speaker emphasized the benefits of using visual and performing arts to engage learners and enhance their understanding of core academic concepts. He further emphasized the importance of finding new and innovative ways of exposing students to experiential learning and developing an ambience of joyful learning through arts.
The session ended with the speaker highlighting the need for creating awareness about local arts in educational institutions, so that students are exposed to their cultural heritage and develop a strong sense of identity.
Abdul Rouf Khan, Assistant Faculty, JKEDI threw light on the importance of developing an innovative ecosystem where new ideas are encouraged and creativity thrives. He talked about the role of digital interventions such as ‘Fab Lab’ to transform creative ideas into tangible prototypes. He stressed upon the need to establish incubation centers at every school cluster to foster integration of vocational education into school education. The speaker shared a number of inspiring success stories of entrepreneurs in J&K to demonstrate the possibility of converting ideas into successful initiatives.
Nadeem Qadri, Environmental Lawyer & Amicus Curie, J&K High Court highlighted the importance of imparting green skills among students, which has the potential to generate around 10 million jobs by 2024.
He elaborated on the concept of ‘Green Schooling’ under the ‘Go Green Program’ through which school students are encouraged to become active participants in environmental campaigns and become ‘Green Ambassadors’. He invited schools to become associated with ‘Earth Day Network’ and make a positive contribution to protecting the environment by building environmental stewardship among school students and imparting climate education to them.
Shiekh Sameer, Key Resource Person, SLA/ SCERT, emphasized the need to guide students at the right time to make Counseling Cells at clusters effective. He highlighted the importance of providing mentorship to students, especially at intermediate level, so that students recognize their own intellectual acumen, and carve out their own career in line with their talents.
Ms. Rafiqa Qureshi, HOD, Planning and Management, who helped coordinate the workshop, in her conclusive remarks thanked all the participants, in particular the experts and resource persons from SCERT for their active involvement in making the workshop a successful intellectual exercise.
She underscored the need to expand the scope of such workshops to cluster level and encouraged the participating faculty to ensure implementation of ideas shared during the workshop in their respective clusters, so that the purpose of the workshop is fulfilled.
