SRINAGAR: “The importance of education should never be sidelined because only with proper education can we evolve together as a society”. Thus was stated by Minister of State for Education and Technical Education, Priya Sethi during her visit to Kashmir Government Polytechnic (KGP), Gogji Bagh today.
The Minister was accompanied by Director, Technical Education, Shabnum Shah Kamili.
During her visit, the Minister inspected educational and co-curricular infrastructure being made available to the students besides enquiring about the level of education being delivered there. She undertook lengthy inspection of classrooms and labs, with special attention to the workshops of civil, electrical and mechanical divisions.
The Minister said that KGP, Gogji Bagh is to be developed into a model polytechnic college that can serve as a role model for other institutions in the state and the country.
The Minister made several observations regarding the state of affairs in the college and directed the college administration to pull up their efforts to reinforce the standards of education in the institution so that the students emerging from there can compete with the best in their fields.
The Principal also apprised the Minister about the losses incurred by the institution during floods of 2014.
Responding to the reports, the Minister said that “Nothing should get in the way of education of youth” and as such, passed immediate instructions to the officials to make a detailed report of the equipments required to ensure students can derive maximum out of the practical workshops and classes.
While commenting on the status of equipments available at present for students’ use, the Minister asked the institution to explore avenues to equip the labs by connecting with corporate houses through Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Minister enquired about the placement figures achieved by the institution in the last session. She also visited the computer classes holding CADD training at the institution.
The Minister held lengthy interactions with the students and congratulated them for the initiative taken by the government for providing admission to degree programme under lateral entry admission.
During the interactions, the Minister put forth the vision of the government for creating educated, independent and enterprising youth that can in-turn contribute to help this state become a leader in every respect.
She apprised the students of the benefits of PMSS which is also available for diploma courses and encouraged them to make use of such initiatives.
The Minister appreciated the role of faculty and school administration for their efforts to provide students with best available resources.
As part of her tour, the Minister also visited the exclusive hand crafted wood workshop in the institution and appreciated the exclusive pieces being created there. She thanked the Principal for her efforts in keeping the ancient Kashmiri craft alive.