Council defers implementation of UGC amended regulation 2013

Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Oct 11: In a relief to teaching faculty in Jammu University as well as Kashmir University, implementation of the controversial UGC amended regulation 2013 has been deferred by the Council- apex decision taking body of the University.
As the Kashmir University Council resolved  to examine the controversial capping regulation by a joint committee of both the universities to look into the matter in detail and submit its recommendations in next three months, the JU Council did not discuss the item that was specially included in the agenda on the direction of Governor House.
The Council meetings of both the universities were held separately at Srinagar today under the chairmanship of Governor N N Vohra, who is Chancellor of  JU as well as KU.
However, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is Pro-Chancellor of both the universities, skipped the Council meetings, sources added.
“Regarding adoption of the 2nd Amendment of the UGC Regulations (on Minimum Qualification for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education 2010), as notified by the UGC on June 13, 2013, and published in the Government of India Gazette on 25-9-2013, the KU Council discussed the issue and resolved to constitute a Joint Committee of both the Kashmir and Jammu Universities to look into the matter in detail, also associating the Vice Chancellors of other Universities functioning in J&K, and come up with its recommendations in the next 3 months,” said an official spokesman.
The temporary deferring  of UGC amended regulation, which suggests capping of API score for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in the Universities, has come as a  relief to Jammu University Teachers Association, which was up in arms against implementation of the same.
The Council meetings also approved the proposal regarding implementation of Choice-Based Credit System by both the Kashmir and Jammu Universities from the next academic session.
According to the sources, majority of the items in agenda for discussion were approved by the Council meeting.
There were total 66 items in the agenda of JU Council meeting, which was attended by all its members, including  the Minister for Higher Education Mohd Akbar Lone, Vice-Chancellor Prof M P S Ishar;   B  R  Sharma, Principal Secretary, Planning and Development; B  B  Vyas, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Principal Secretary, Finance;  Navin K  Choudhary, Principal Secretary to the Governor; Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, Secretary Higher Education, Prof Manoj Kumar Dhar, Registrar JU and JUTA representative Prof Dilip Singh Jamwal.
Earlier, JU VC Prof M P S Ishar gave a power point presentation highlighting the status of various ongoing research projects and those in the pipeline, achievements of the University in varied fields since the last meeting of the Council, various courses introduced and other initiatives.
The meet also reviewed the infrastructure development at the various off-site campuses and discussed the introduction of a few short term courses in the university, sources added.