Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 12: Increasing employability of Jammu and Kashmir youth through skill development would be a litmus test for the PDP-BJP Coalition Government as such initiatives in the past have failed to yield any tangible results with unemployment continuing to be a grave issue in the State.
This can be gauged from the fate of the Jammu and Kashmir Skill Development Mission, which was also constituted by the National Conference-Congress Coalition Government in the year 2009 to draw an integrated strategy for enhancing the employability of the youth of the State.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that National Conference-Congress Government vide Government Order No.76-Edu (Tech) of 2009 dated October 1, 2009 constituted J&K Skill Development Mission in order to oversee and co-ordinate the implementation of the skill development activities and to have integrated system in place to ensure the development of all available human resources in the State as per the market requirements from time to time.
At that time it was stated with much hype that the Mission would draw an integrated strategy for enhancing the employability of the youth in the State and develop a comprehensive strategy for skill development of all the human resources besides to ensure that the skill development programme proceeds strictly in the direction of imparting demand driven skills to the youth and the global level standards of training are maintained.
Chief Minister was made Chairman of the Mission with seven Ministers, Chief Secretary and 13 Administrative Secretaries as its Members. The Mission, as per the order of 2009, was to meet bi-annually to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the skill development programme.
Moreover, a Standing Committee headed by Chief Secretary was also constituted Vide same order for taking urgent decisions on behalf of the Mission.
“The organizational structure of the Mission generated much hope among the J&K youth and they started thinking that they would be able to enhance their skills and then get adjusted in the private sector in view of constraints for the Government to provide large scale employment in different departments”, sources said.
However, what results that Mission yielded as far as increasing employability of the youth is beyond anybody’s knowledge mainly because the interest which was shown in formulation of the Mission faded away with the passage of time, sources said, adding “nobody knows in the official circles as to what guidelines were formulated by the Mission constituted by the previous dispensation and what tangible results the same had yielded”.
Though it was specifically mentioned in the Government Order of 2009 that Skill Development Mission will be of permanent nature, the present dispensation with much fanfare constituted own Skill Development Mission Vide Government Order No.240-F dated December 9, 2015 with almost same organizational structure that too without mentioning anything about superseding of earlier Mission.
“Practically there was no need for constitution of Mission afresh. Rather the necessity was of ensuring that the Mission yields tangible results”, sources said, adding “now, when the Mission has been constituted for the second time all eyes are on present dispensation to see how successfully it ensures required results from the newly framed Mission”.
Keeping in view the fate of the earlier Mission, it would be a litmus test for the present dispensation to enhance employability of the youth through new body and ensure that the new Mission doesn’t meet the fate as that of earlier one, sources said.
“Since no specific schedule has been fixed for the compulsory meeting of the Mission, the present dispensation must ensure that the Mission begins exercise without wasting any time and is able to show some positive results within shortest possible time otherwise youth of J&K would get dejected again”, sources stressed.
Follow our WhatsApp channel