J&K universities given six months to implement Design Your Degree programme
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha called for academic reforms and resource sharing during a high-level council meeting in Jammu.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday established a six-month deadline for universities across Jammu and Kashmir to launch the ‘Design Your Degree’ (DYD) programme. According to reports by the Kashmir Observer, The Tribune, and Daily Excelsior, the directive was issued during a Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC) meeting held at Lok Bhavan.
Sinha urged higher education institutions to collaborate by sharing research laboratories, academic credits, and other resources. He stated that transforming the region's higher education into a visionary system is a shared responsibility and that council initiatives must now result in tangible achievements.
The meeting addressed aligning undergraduate and postgraduate curricula with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the DYD framework. Members also discussed creating a task force to incorporate data science and artificial intelligence, such as deep learning and machine learning, into academic courses.
The Lieutenant Governor also recommended that new programmes include regional cultures and local languages. He noted that successful reform would require long-term strategies and significant institutional changes.
The council reviewed the status of entrepreneurship programmes, Engineering Kitchens, and budgetary reforms. Vice Chairman of the JKHEC Prof Dinesh Singh requested policy directives to ensure curricula align with the DYD framework.
The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Minister Shamim Firdous, and various university vice-chancellors and government officials.