Dhami stresses on Modernisation of Higher Education & Skill Development
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 17 Apr: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a review meeting of the Higher Education Department held in the Secretariat here today and emphasised the importance of increasing student attendance and fostering vocational, entrepreneurial, and employment-oriented education. He also stressed on the need for linking academic degrees with skill development to better prepare the youth for employment opportunities, both within India and abroad.
The CM reminded the gathering of the potential of training young individuals in foreign languages and skill development that should be tailored to the human resource requirements of different countries. He suggested that collaborations with foreign embassies could facilitate employment-specific training, ensuring the state contributes skilled professionals for international roles.
To elevate the quality of higher education, Dhami laid emphasis on modern training for professors based on the latest technologies and he also called for the availability of adequate teaching aids to make educational activities engaging. He further directed sincere efforts to ensure well-equipped libraries and laboratories in universities and colleges. He said that as part of the Bharat Darshan Yojana, meritorious students would be given opportunities to visit premier institutions across India. Dhami urged institutions in Uttarakhand to strive for inclusion in the NAAC grading system and to also expedite reforms in line with the National Education Policy 2020.
During the meeting, integration of innovation into the higher education curriculum was strongly advocated with recommendations to collaborate with reputed educational institutions renowned for pioneering work in this domain. Dhami advocated for the strengthening of e-library systems to provide free access to books catering to academic and competitive examinations and proposed the introduction of vocational courses in colleges.
The review meeting also addressed infrastructure improvements, including ensuring adequate lighting, clean drinking water, toilets, classroom maintenance, and nutritious meals in schools. The CM also called for action to boost awareness regarding higher education services, with particular focus on marriage registration among government employees under the state’s initiatives.
Among those present during the meeting were Higher Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, Vice President, Infrastructure Monitoring Council, Vishwas Dawar, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretaries RK Sudhanshu and R Meenakshi Sundaram and Secretary Ranjit Sinha.
