Abrar A. Mattoo
SRINAGAR, Sep 24: To discuss the challenges pertaining to the quality education in the 21st Century, Private School’s Association Jammu and Kashmir, organized a Seminar at Tagore Hall, here on Friday.
Various imminent educationists attended the Seminar, including the chairman, principals, and teachers of many private schools across the valley. While Prof. Qayoom Hussain, Vice-chancellor Cluster-university Srinagar, presided over the Seminar in the capacity of the chief guest, Tasaduq Hussain, Director School education graced the event as a guest of honor. Furthermore, Vijay Dhar, Chairman DPS schools, Dr. Qazi Azhar, educationist, and scientist at Michigan University, and Dr. Ashraf, HOD Nanotechnology NIT Srinagar, graced the event amongst various distinguished educationists.
Additionally, two books, written by school-going girls namely Tooba Naqeeb from DPS school, and Saira from Lighthouse Wilgam Kupwara, were also released, where the young authors were felicitated by the guests with praise and applause.
While speaking on the event, Dr. Tasaduq, Director of school education said that education is the mission of the prophets and complimented the educationist attending the gather for being the nation-builders.
“Since Knowledge is power, you power the powerless by imparting your knowledge to the children,” Mr. Tasaduq added while addressing the educationists at the gathering.
Furthermore, while complementing the school education system in Jammu and Kashmir, Prof. Qayum Hussain said that he finds the school system in the Union Territory as the best in North and Western India. But he also pointed that the higher education system is in poor condition due to a lack of research temperament and other factors in Jammu and Kashmir.
Prof. Qayoom said that higher education needs more attention in Jammu and Kashmir, and professional courses need to be added to the curriculum in higher education.
While speaking on his vision about the betterment of Cluster University, the Vice-Chancellor said, “I have inherited the educational system of the Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, and I would try to work on those lines. I would introduce lots of new professional and technical courses including Masters in Artificial Intelligence, Financial management, and advertising and marketing to improve the job prospects of the students enrolled in Cluster University.”
It is pertinent to mention here, Prof. Qayum was a professor at Aligarh Muslim University before joining Cluster University as a Vice-chancellor.
Pertinently, expressing discontent in the educational system of the valley, Vijay Dhar, Chairman DPS schools, said that students in Jammu and Kashmir lack research temperament.
Mr. Dhar added, “We have 99 universities in Jammu and Kashmir, but none have succeeded in producing significant research except SKAUST agricultural universities.”
He further said that education was made compulsory in 1951 in Jammu and Kashmir, but at the moment we don’t have a sufficient literacy rate, and it implies that we need to work very hard in the area of education. The speaker did not touch on the new education policy – 2020. But when Dr. Qazi Azhar did, he said that 90 % of the New education policy – 2020, was burrowed from the educational policy of the United States, but while it perfectly works there, in India, given the constraints of infrastructure and various other things, the educationists in the country are encountering serious implications while implementing the policy on the ground.
Towards the end of the Seminar, G. N. War, President, Private Schools Association Jammu and Kashmir, said that his organization would work towards implementing the minimum wages to address the issues of the teachers in private schools, and said that they would also fix the minimum fees as well on their own.
It’s important to note here, there are nearly 69,632 private school teachers, teaching 12’60284 students in 5585 private schools in Jammu and Kashmir.
