Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 20: Stepping up its efforts to modernize the education sector and attune it to the fast-changing global academic scenario, the State’s Education Department has co-opted some prestigious national and international institutions for capacity building of teachers and facilitating technological intervention in J&K’s educational institutions.
The Education Department recently signed a slew of MoUs with National Institute of Open Schools (NIOS), National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to transform the State’s schools into strategically and operationally effective resources and create a new job-intensive educational system in the State that J&K desperately needs.
As per the MoU signed with NIOS, the Institute would train around 5000 untrained undergraduate teachers from J&K in 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education through distance mode.
As per the MoU signed with NIELIT, the Institute, co-opted as knowledge partner under RMSA, would make the State’s schools ICT enabled and in the first phase 220 schools across J&K would be covered under the programme by March 2016. The ICT involves use of computer based teaching and learning in the schools to prepare the students for the future challenges in the technological advancement.
As per the MoU signed with NSDC, the Corporation would help the State Government to introduce vocational courses, as part of curriculum, in the schools. In the first phase 132 schools would be covered under this programme, with six schools being included in each district. In the second phase 440 schools including 20 schools from each district are to be covered under the programme.
To begin with, the selected schools would introduce vocational courses in IT&ITES, Tourism, Healthcare and Retail as a part of the regular curriculum.
Similarly, as per the MoU signed with IGNOU, the University would provide BEd training to the teachers of the State Government schools and in the first phase 2000 teachers would be deputed to IGNOU for undergoing Bed to create a trained human resource in the Education Department.
The Education Department has also entered into collaboration with an international NGO, Pratham to launch activity-based learning programme in the State’s schools.
According to Education Minister, the new initiatives are aimed at doing away with the academic stagnation in the State’s educational institutions so that these can churn-out productive assets instead of adding to the numbers of educated unemployed youth.
He said there is no longer a safe formula for the kind of education youth should undertake in order to get a job. “The main obstacle to youth employment is lack of preparedness for the unconventional economic environment they find themselves in once they finish their studies,” Mr Akhtar said, adding the job market that young people have learned about and knew through their parents doesn’t exist anymore as there has been huge transformation of the same with winds of economic liberalization and globalization sweeping the world.
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