Jammu And Kashmir Higher Education Council: J&K universities get six months to roll out ‘Design Your Degree’ programme; LG Manoj Sinha calls for higher education reforms

J&K health minister Sakina Itoo writes to LG Manoj Sinha, flagging civilian inconvenience due to highway closures during Army convoy movement

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has directed universities across the Union Territory to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ programme within six months, calling for a result-oriented transformation of the higher education sector. He emphasised the need to move beyond policy announcements and ensure that initiatives undertaken by the J&K Higher Education Council translate into measurable outcomes for students.The directions were issued during a high-level meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC) at Lok Bhavan. The meeting reviewed ongoing higher education reforms, academic restructuring, research and innovation, and the integration of emerging technologies into university programmes.Sinha stressed that effective utilisation of available resources must remain central to the reform process. He called for building a comprehensive, holistic and student-centric higher education system that responds to changing academic and professional requirements.According to news agency PTI, Sinha said, “Transforming higher education in Jammu Kashmir into a comprehensive, holistic, and visionary system is a shared responsibility. The time has now come to translate Higher Education Council initiatives into tangible achievements, while ensuring that every student benefits from outcome-oriented asset utilisation.”

J&K universities asked to implement Design Your Degree within six months

The six-month deadline for introducing the Design Your Degree programme emerged as one of the key decisions of the meeting. The initiative is expected to support the restructuring of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.The discussions focused on making university education more flexible and multidisciplinary, while allowing students greater scope to shape their academic pathways. The proposed restructuring of UG and PG courses was also discussed in the context of the Design Your Degree framework.The emphasis on implementation indicates the Council’s focus on moving higher education reforms towards institutional execution, with universities expected to translate the proposed changes into academic programmes.

Research, innovation and AI integration on higher education agenda

Fostering a stronger culture of research and innovation was another major focus of the meeting. Participants discussed ways to strengthen academic collaboration, improve access to institutional resources and encourage research-oriented learning across universities.The integration of emerging technologies into higher education programmes also featured in the deliberations. According to PTI, the government is likely to constitute a task force to examine the integration of artificial intelligence, including machine learning and deep learning, along with data science into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula.The proposed move reflects the growing emphasis on equipping students with skills relevant to technology-driven industries and emerging areas of research. However, the proposed task force and its implementation framework remain subject to further government decisions.

Academic credit sharing and resource utilisation discussed

The meeting also deliberated on sharing academic credits and resources among institutions, an approach that could support greater academic mobility and collaboration within the Union Territory.Effective utilisation of existing infrastructure, institutional assets and financial resources was highlighted as an important requirement for improving the quality of higher education. Sinha asked officials to ensure that resources allocated to the sector lead to concrete academic outcomes and directly benefit students.The Council also reviewed the progress of ongoing higher education initiatives, including Engineering Kitchens and entrepreneurship programmes. The budgetary outlay for the sector and reforms in the fund allocation mechanism were among the other issues discussed.

CM Omar Abdullah, education minister and university heads attend meeting

The high-level meeting was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Education Minister Shamim Firdous, Vice Chairman of the J&K Higher Education Council Professor Dinesh Singh, Acting Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Shailendra Kumar.Vice chancellors of various universities and heads of IIT, IIM and NIT Srinagar also participated in the deliberations.The participation of senior government officials and institutional heads placed the proposed reforms within a broader framework of coordination between the government, higher education regulators and universities.With a six-month timeline for the Design Your Degree programme, the immediate challenge for universities will be to translate the Council’s recommendations into revised academic structures, stronger research opportunities and technology-oriented courses. The progress of these initiatives will be central to determining whether the proposed reforms deliver tangible improvements in Jammu and Kashmir’s higher education system.(With inputs from PTI)