20,000 vacant posts in administration to be filled soon: LG Manoj Sinha

JAMMU — Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha addressed the foundation day celebration of Cluster University Jammu at Padma Shri Padma Sachdev Government PG College for Women, Gandhi Nagar.

Congratulating the Cluster University for achieving excellence in quality education, the Lieutenant Governor said that the University, established on March 1, 2017, with five constituent colleges, is playing its role of a change agent, with a focus on skill development and transforming the vibrant institutions as the centers of new ideas and discoveries.

The Lieutenant Governor highlighted the important role of college campuses and classrooms in enriching society, creating and nurturing the best talents, and stressed upon the necessary changes in sync with the National Education Policy.

“In a new era, the education system and role of a teacher need to adapt to a fast-changing world. The teacher is not just a disseminator of knowledge but the one who imparts different skill sets, ignites creativity, innovation in the young generation to live a better life,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

“The new invention will not be born out of memories of the past or books, but from a free mind, from a young mind full of curiosity. To make the curiosity, innovation, invention, lifeblood of academic institutions, we must implement recommendations of national education policy,” the Lieutenant Governor added.

Observing that innovation will be a major contributor to India’s five-trillion economy, the Lieutenant Governor asked the educational institutions to keep pace with digitalization and future technologies.

“We must remove the burden of textbooks and instill in young students the urge for new discoveries. We must give them the courage and strength to explore the unknown and not just syllabus. We should provide them with academic freedom so they get to know themselves and respect their own uniqueness,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

“Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Jammu Kashmir has emerged as the hub of education in the country. Our agriculture Universities are also going global. We must enable universities to contribute to India’s knowledge economy,” the Lieutenant Governor observed.

All the educational institutions will have to keep pace with evolving world, he said and also spoke on the growth registered in various sectors including tourism, industries, livelihood generation, sports, and the measures taken to improve services for the people.

“The entire J&K administration is working towards the welfare of the common man. The time has gone when J&K’s administration was running at the whims and fancies of some handful of people with vested interests,” said the Lieutenant Governor.

The Lieutenant Governor said 20,000 vacant posts in administration will be filled soon. He also assured strict punishment to the culprits who are behind the rigging of the recruitment exam.

Speaking on the anti-encroachment drive, the Lieutenant Governor said that the anti-encroachment drive only retrieved the land from the big and influential land grabbers who had illegally occupied large chunks of state land and if any poor person was affected by the anti-encroachment drive, strict action will be taken against the concerned officers.

The Lieutenant Governor asked the educational institutions and students to collectively participate in the conduct of G20 meeting in J&K. “Be the socio-cultural ambassadors of J&K and make the world aware of the diversity of Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

Educational institutions should also dedicate themselves to actively providing solutions to local problems, the Lieutenant Governor said.

On the occasion, the Lieutenant Governor inaugurated the Laboratory block of the School of Sciences of the Cluster University of Jammu and laid the foundation stone for the Examination block to be built at a cost of Rs 39.35 crores. The Lieutenant Governor also felicitated students who excelled in Yuvatarang-2023.

RR Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lieutenant Governor; Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, and Bechan Lal, VC, Cluster University of Jammu shared the journey of making the Cluster University of Jammu, highlighting the achievements of the University and the reforms introduced in the education sector.