Education minister voices concern over dip in varsity admissions

Srinagar, Nov 15: The Minister for Education Sakeena Masood Itoo on Friday voiced concern over the dip in the admissions of students in Colleges and at the University level and sought a report from the concerned Universities.

During her maiden meeting to review the functioning of the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)-Universities and Colleges, the minister also sought the report from the concerned Vice Chancellors (VCs) on decline in admissions with suggestions to increase the footfall.

A top official who was present in the meeting informed Greater Kashmir that the meeting lasted for around 2.50 hours in civil Secretariat Srinagar. The VCs from Universities in Kashmir division besides the Director Colleges J&K physically attended the meeting while the VCs of universities in Jammu division attended the meeting through virtual mode.

VC Kashmir University, VC IUST Awantipora, VC Cluster University Srinagar were physically present in the meeting while the Jammu University, BGSBU, SMVDU, Cluster University  Jammu and BGSBU were connected through virtual mode.

"During the meeting, the minister voiced concern over the decline in the admissions in the Universities and the affiliated colleges. She sought a detailed report from the VCs with the reasons that led to the decline in the admissions," the official told Greater Kashmir.

He said the education minister also sought suggestions from the VCs on how the student footfall can be increased in the varsities.

"The VCs were given directions to send suggestions about how we can overcome the problem and increase the footfall of the students," the official said.

The education minister has also stressed on greater footfall of the foreign students in the Universities which will pave the way for the international student exchange programs.

Notably the presence of international students has bearing on National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and NIRF rankings of the Universities.

During the meeting it was informed that the Kashmir University has already enrolled a few foreign students to which the education minister has asked the VC KU Prof Nilofer Khan to upgrade the facilities and mobalise the resources so that maximum foreign students arrive in the varsity.

"Similar directions were given to other University Vice Chancellors to chalk out plans to attract maximum foreign students," the official said.

During the meeting, the education minister sought explanation from the KU administration on why it slipped in the recent NIRF rankings.

As already reported, Kashmir University slipped by 12 notches in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024 announced by the Union Education Ministry on August 12 of 2024. The university, which ranked 33rd in NIRF 2023, slipped to 45th among universities assessed across the country, indicating a noticeable decline, though it still remained among the top 50 universities.

KU’s point score in 2023 was 53.08, while the same this year has seen a slip to 52.14.

"The education minister asked the KU administration to submit a report while highlighting the lacunas which led to the decline in the NIRF ranking," the official said.

He said the education minister maintained that KU was one of the prestigious institutions and its graph should always witness an upward trend.

"The administration in all Universities should work with dedication and work for betterment of the insitutions. Main focus should be on merit and transparency should prevail in every aspect in the institutions," the education minister said in the meeting.