The Centre is set to implement a comprehensive education, skilling and employment package to target more than 472,000 youngsters in J&K with a network of new higher education institutes and girls’ hostels, besides a bouquet of skill development and entrepreneurial courses.
The ‘end to end’ education and employment package is proposed to kick-start with setting up of 22 centrally sponsored model degree colleges, one in every district of the new UT. To start with, over 50,000 youngsters are expected to be enrolled in the higher education institutes soon.
Unemployment rate in J&K is estimated at over 16%, while its gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 22 is below the national average of 27 as per government estimates. This implies that a lot of youngsters in the state currently do not pursue a college education.
The institutes will offer diploma and certificate skill courses of six months to one year in select domain areas and skillsets to help youngsters join the mainstream and get jobs easily. At first go, it is expected that enrollment and skilling of about 50,000 youngsters will be facilitated.
There will also be short-term courses on soft skills to improve employability. These will be offered alongside the regular degree programmes to start with and later be developed into full-fledged courses
So, the initiative aims to push up higher education enrollment in the state, link courses with employment to ensure job readiness of students, and train those interested in launching their own enterprise. This will be a great opportunity for the youth of valley and help them accomplishing their dreams.
