Down the Memory Lane

I had a long association of more than 20 years with Professor Neelofar Khan; ex Director Department of Distance Education and Life Long Learning and first Dean of School of Open Learning, University of Kashmir. She served University of Kashmir with utmost dedication and sincerity for 33 long years.

Prof Neelofar was a lady of simple habits; she was never boastful or extravagant. She was a strict disciplinarian and had high taste for aesthetics; this was visible when she decorated Directorate of Life Long Learning (DLL) as her own home. She had no maid at her home. She balanced her professional and domestic commitments. She used to come to the university in a staff bus which was boarded by other luminaries like Prof Sofi of Mathematics, and Prof Akbar Khuroo of chemistry. Prof Neelofar was a University gold medalist and had submitted her MEd dissertation on creativity and level of aspiration, and her PhD thesis on Evaluation of Distance Education Programmes. She had excellent research ethics.

She was a creative artist and was interested in painting.  Above all she was a humble lady without any trace of arrogance. This was validated by senior professors on various social media forums to condole her sad demise. As coordinator BED she was very committed and hardworking. I am witness to the fact that she strengthened the extension and outreach activities of the Distance Education and Life-Long Learning by conducting a series of meetings with senior government officials and signing MOUs. The purpose of these visits was not personal but to promote the message of distance education and life-long learning at grassroots level.

During the turmoil in the valley, she used to visit the practice teaching schools located in geographically challenged areas. She never dictated from the comfort zone of her chamber, but connected with her students at their doorsteps. In the line of her duty she crossed streams, reached schools on foot located at inaccessible hilltops to address the course related difficulties of his students. She introduced Coordinator-Student-Meet in distance education for reaching the learners at their doorsteps and fulfilling the mandate of distance education of reaching the unreached.

As Director life-long learning she introduced a diverse range of skills and courses and chalked a road map for this department. The newsletters titled DLL Times and DDE Times published during her directorship substantiate my observation. I once made a written communication to the authorities to acknowledge and recognize the contributions of Prof Neelofar Khan in promoting non formal education in our state.

In her life time this dream was not fulfilled. She was well versed with the philosophy and methodology of teaching at a distance. and as member of committee to draft the statues for distance education in 2005 she incorporated student –centric provisions, to provide flexibility to the learners and reduce dropout rate. She ensured that students should leave the Directorate as good ambassadors and frequently impressed upon non-teaching and teaching faculty to listen patiently and empathetically to the learners.

It was because of her positive attitude that thousands completed their degree as she addressed to their grievances on case to case basis. Sometimes in the fit of rage we shouted at her, argued in departmental committee meetings but she always remained calm and composed. She never wrote against us to the higher authorities.

As Director she accommodated diverse range of opinions and was impartial in her administrative behavior. She played instrumental role in starting MEd in distance education which helped in placement of hundreds of aspirants as lecturers. She crossed all administrative hurdles and prepared the lecture scripts of MEd in a record period of three months. She strained herself by proof reading, and editing the scripts for long hours without complaining. Later these lecture scripts were refined and revised into self-learning format by Dr Habibullah Shah, Associate Professor in Distance Education.

She used to give due love and respect to her seniors and elders. As teaching assistant I am witness to the fact that whenever Prof Neelofar used to prepare a broad based panel of resource persons there was a fair representation of well qualified retired senior citizens. On many occasions I have observed she addressed the audience in workshops/seminars as: “We from the Distance Education family”, forging umbilical connectivity with her mother institution.

As Director and team leader she could sense our problems. In 2014 I was the member of the admission committee of BEd. Some mischievous elements had misplaced some forms to create chaos in the admission process. Despite some personal issues at that time I resolved all the grievances by revisiting more than 2000 forms, there was some delay in the notification of selection list.

An enquiry committee held me responsible for non-seriously handling the BEd forms and disassociated me from the important assignments of the Directorate. Prof Neelofar Khan wrote a series of  applications in her own handwriting to Dean Academic Affairs to re-associate me back with the assignments and personally visited to the office of the authorities to plead my case. Later Prof Ashraf Wani then Dean Academic Affairs met me one day after many years of retirement and told me how Prof Neelofar had requested her several times on my behalf.

Today she is no more but looking on these papers reflect how she safeguarded and voiced my concern; despite the fact I had hurt her many times for which I feel sad and sorry.

Once, on the occasion of Eid the house keeping staff was without salary. She paid them some money from her own pocket. Senior Professors in the University placed her in high regard and respect. I remember on the demise of her mother I accompanied Late Professor Nadeem, Late Prof Rather to her maternal residence at Bagi-Mehtab to pay condolence. Memories remains on the sands of time; today Prof Nadeem, Prof Rather, Prof Neelofar are no more with us. Human life is so finite.

We, from Distance Education family,  pray to Almighty Allah to place the blessed soul of Prof Neelofar in evergreen gardens of paradise, and grant patience to bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

Dr Showkat Rashid Wani, Senior Coordinator, Centre for Distance and Online Education, University of Kashmir