Under-employment more dangerous than unemployment: Jammu and Kashmir LG Sinha

He was speaking as the Guest of Honour at the 6th convocation of NIT Srinagar through virtual mode.

The convocation was held to award degrees and medals to students of 2019 and 2020 batches.

The LG said the institutions, private sector companies and the government need to give their collective efforts to overcome the problem of under-employment.

“The whole method will have to be rebooted and reinvented,” he said and called upon the academic leadership of all the institutions in J&K to prepare skilled human capital in all major growth potential sectors.

“J&K administration is working on mission mode for development and growth of industries and businesses in J&K UT. In the coming days, with right intent and execution of reformative measures, we can meet the huge amount of vacancies that we need in manufacturing, services, electricity sector, food processing, IT enabled services,” he said.

Manoj Sinha further stated that there was a need to fill the gap between the industry requirements and the skills of the youth produced by the institutions.

“There is an urgent need to bridge this gap. Investment in human capital, especially in professional institutions like NIT Srinagar and development of basic skills has to be developed,” he said. The J&K LG said the institutions should focus on human capital investment particularly in case of management of engineering students.

“Students of management and engineering learn more in the field than in the classrooms. he field of work is constantly changing due to technological progress,” he said, adding that the market was expanding and a new society was developing for which technology has a big role to play.

“Training also needs to change as per the market requirement. With the advancement in technology people are frequently changing their old jobs with the new ones. The rapidly changing economic landscape also requires upskilling for the existing jobs,” he said.

He also congratulated the NIT students who were virtually awarded with degrees and gold medals.

“I strongly feel that NIT Srinagar has grown as the laboratory of ideas and innovations,” he said and congratulated director NIT Srinagar for ranking 30th in Outlook-iCare rankings.

“Behind this magnificent achievement are the hard work, devotion and dedication of the teachers,” he said.

With a total of 12 departments and promising students from across the country, NIT Srinagar is a classic example of our cultural pluralism and coexistence, and also a symbol of cosmopolitanism, which is essential for the development of modern society and technology, Manoj Sinha said.

“I sincerely hope that all the graduates and researchers who get out of NIT Srinagar today after receiving their degree, will make their outstanding contribution in further strengthening the country’s potential,” he said.

The J&K LG asked students to understand human behavior and people’s attitudes and bring about necessary changes in order to serve the society at large.

“The teachers and parents should develop a competitive mind of children which is also full of awareness towards duties and teach them about a life of peace and joy and not merely temptations of attractive jobs,” he said, adding that a student must be fulfilled and not just successful.

“The greatest responsibility of parents today is to develop an inquisitive mind for better tomorrow. The greatest responsibility of the teachers today is to create efficiency, innovative minds and original geniuses,” he said.

Earlier, in his address, the Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal (Nishank) who was the Chief Guest on the occasion congratulated the students for successfully completing their degrees.

The minister briefed the audience through virtual mode and spoke about the initiatives taken by the Government of India in the education sector. Ramesh Pokhriyal said the Government of India got worldwide appreciation for the introduction of New Education Policy (NEP)-2020.

“Many countries across the world want to implement our education policy. The education policy has broadened the scope for students to pursue education,” he said.

During the convocation, around 1145 students including 48 Ph.D scholars, 213 M.Tech students, eight M.Sc students and 876 B.Tech students were awarded a degree in virtual mode.

Also 17 toppers of each program of B.Tech program and 22 toppers of each program of M.Tech and M.Sc were also awarded with a gold medal. Commissioner Secretary higher education department, Talat Parvez Ruhella who is also a member of the board of governors of NIT also joined the meeting through online mode.

The convocation was joined by over 600 people including students, academicians and alumni from different parts through online mode. The director NIT Srinagar, Prof. Rakesh Sehgal in his address briefed about the functioning and the programs offered at the institute.

“The NIT offers eight B.Tech degree programs, 11 M. Tech. programs and all the departments offer Phd programs for the students,” he said, adding that the NIT has introduced M.Tech (Electrical Power & Energy Systems), M.Sc. (Chemistry), M.Sc (TIED) and MBA from the current academic session of the institute.