Lt Governor sets six-month deadline for ‘DYD’ rollout in J&K universities

Srinagar, Nov 4: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday set a six-month deadline to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ (DYD) program in universities of the Union Territory (UT).
The Lieutenant Governor passed the directions in a high-level meeting of Jammu Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC), at Lok Bhavan.
The JKHEC met under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to chart a forward-looking roadmap for higher education.
During the meeting, discussions focused on advancing academic excellence, fostering a culture of research and innovation, and strategically aligning institutions to meet future challenges and leverage emerging opportunities.
The key agendas of the meeting include sharing of academic credit and resources and recasting UG and PG programs in the light of Design Your Degree and National Education Policy 2020.
In the meeting further the modalities to set up a Task Force for integrating AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Data science into UG and PG programs were also discussed.
To drive academic reform, the Lieutenant Governor set a six-month deadline for universities in Jammu Kashmir to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ program.
Emphasizing a spirit of collaboration, Sinha urged institutions to share academic credits, research laboratories, and resources. “Transforming higher education in Jammu Kashmir into a comprehensive, holistic, and visionary system is a shared responsibility.”
Sinha said that the time has now come to translate Higher Education Council initiatives into tangible achievements, while ensuring that every student benefits from outcome-oriented asset utilization.
Stressing the need for stronger intra-university collaboration, the Lieutenant Governor noted that successful implementation relies on deep-rooted institutional reform and a solid long-term strategy.
The Lieutenant Governor emphasized the integration of artificial intelligence and modern technology into learning programs, stressing the need to pioneer frontier technologies.
He also highlighted that these programs must incorporate local languages and cultures. Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice Chairman, JKHEC called for policy directives to align undergraduate and postgraduate curricula with the ‘Design Your Degree’ framework.
Vice Chancellors and members of the Council shared their inputs for advancing the DYD program and NEP 2020 interventions.
The Council also reviewed the progress of ongoing Higher Education initiatives, Engineering Kitchens and Entrepreneurship programmes, and Budgetary outlay and Reform of the Fund Allocation Mechanism.
The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Minister for School and Higher Education Department Shamim Firdous, Vice Chairman of J&K Higher Education Council, Prof. Dinesh Singh, Acting Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Govind Jaiswal, Commissioner Secretary Higher Education Department Ram Niwas Sharma, Vice Chancellors of J&K universities and Director IIT, IIM Jammu, Director NIT Srinagar and other members. (KNO)