Critical thinking biggest power for students: Lt Governor

Jammu, Nov 10: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Thursday attended the ‘Meritorious Students’ Award’ function organized by Amar Ujala Group at Baba Jitto Auditorium of SKUAST-Jammu.
The Lt Governor congratulated all the students and wished them very best for their future endeavours.
The Lt Governor said, “The biggest power for a student is critical thinking, and curiosity is the only real identity. Critical thinking and curiosity helps a student to earn the values of courage, caring and cooperation”.
Both knowledge and values in the education system is need of the hour. At this impressionable age, classroom must stimulate students’ intellectual capacity and enrich their personality, he added.
Observing that the National Education Policy prepared under the guidance of Prime Minister has redefined the entire education eco-system, the Lt Governor stressed upon schools to promote innovation, creativity, flexibility and experiments. The culture of innovation and invention will enable the students to confidently tackle the challenges of the future and contribute to nation building in various capacities, he further added.
Any region, any nation will prosper only when the younger generation gets the right environment to nurture critical thinking and curiosity. Focus on your independent thinking, individual growth and never stop looking for answers for your queries to unlock the vast potential of knowledge, the Lt Governor told the students.
The Lt Governor highlighted the reforms introduced in the education sector and significant decisions taken in line with the National Education Policy to transform the education sector in Jammu and Kashmir in the last two years.
In our effort to achieve the goal of education for all, we have made effective interventions to offset the dropout rate. Last year enrollment drive registered a 14.5% increase, said the Lt Governor.
We are developing necessary infrastructure for girls’ education, bridging gender gaps, developing Atal Tinkering Labs & Computer-Aided Learning centres, providing scholarships, extending handholding for individual growth and ensuring quality education for all sections of society, the Lt Governor added.
Leading educationists of the country have been invited to be a part of the Higher Education Council of J&K. We are preparing a pragmatic road map to enhance the potential of human resources, re-aligning the Higher Education ecosystem to meet the needs of present-day challenges and strengthening the academia-industry relationship, observed the Lt Governor.
Initiatives like Aao School Chalen Campaign, Talaash Survey, Teachers-Students mentorship programs are yielding favorable results. Today 70,000 boys and girls are taking vocational training in 14 different trades and 1420 Computer Aided Learning Centers in Upper Primary School are promoting Curiosity, Critical Thinking in children, he further added.
Uday Kumar, Group Editor Amar Ujala in his welcome address gave a detailed briefing about the endeavour.
On the occasion, the meritorious students of 10th and 12th standards were felicitated.
Rajinder Sharma, Mayor JMC; Bharat Bhushan, Chairman DDC Jammu; Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu; Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary to Government, School Education Department; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, besides senior officials, teachers, parents and students in large numbers were present.
Prof. JP Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu; Prof. Umesh Rai, VC Jammu University; Prof Bechan Lal, VC Cluster University Jammu and members of Amar Ujala group were also present on the occasion.