Jammu has potential to emerge as distinct Integrated Education Model: Jitendra Singh

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 28 : Noting that different kinds of higher education institutions coming up within close vicinity of each other and catering to diverse specializations and streams of academics, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that Jammu has the potential to emerge as a distinct Integrated Education Model, which can also be emulated in other parts of the country.
The Minister expressed his views while delivering a keynote address at the MoUs signing ceremony between IIT, IIM, and AIIMS Jammu.
The Minister described it as a landmark occasion which is indeed the "Rise of a Rare Quaternary" bringing together medical science, engineering technology, management skills and varied specialised disciplines on the same platform.
He said this is a unique and perhaps a rare model of its kind, which has the capacity to be developed and extended further.
Singh suggested that the coming together of the four education institutions of Jammu should pave the way for wider coordination through similar coordination with other remaining institutions like the Central University Jammu which has North India's first Space Technology/ISRO teaching department, Government Medical College Jammu, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) Jammu which is today India's leading research centre in aromatic and herbal products as well as medicines, North India's first Biotech Park at Kathua catering to research, revenue and livelihood, Indian Institute of Mass Communication Jammu which has the capacity to contribute the digital communication components, so on and so forth.
The Minister said as India evolves into a frontline nation in the world community, the current "Mantra" of success would be to pull out all the academic faculties from Silos and integrate them for meaningful and cost-effective outcomes.
Citing the example of the recent pandemic, Singh said he realized that almost every department, ministry or agency had launched a project on COVID because it fetched visibility, media attraction and also funds.
"If only all these different agencies or departments had pooled their resources to come up with a single project on COVID, the outcomes could have been manifold better."
With this realization, the Minister said, he has directed all the departments and Ministries in the Central government to have theme-based rather than department based projects and every department can join in this, including the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which apparently seems to be non-scientific but is using all the scientific tools in governance as well as in laying down COVID related guidelines for government offices.
Referring to the New Industrial Policy for Jammu and Kashmir as brought out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh disclosed that on August 31, Home Minister Amit Shah is going to launch a web portal for registration of units under the "New Central Scheme" for the industrial development of J-K.
"This will also be optimally useful only through an integrated approach if we are able to integrate the academic institutions with industry, Start-Ups, private sector, etc."
Union Healthy Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in his address, spelled out the various programmes of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which also have a bearing on Jammu and Kashmir.
The Tripartite MoU was represented by Dr Shakti Gupta, Executive Director AIIMS Jammu, Professor B. S. Sahay, Director IIM Jammu and Dr Manoj Singh Gaur, Director IIT Jammu. President AIIMS Jammu Professor Y. K. Gupta and Chairman Board of Governors IIM Jammu doctor Milind Kamble were also present during the event.