SRINAGAR: Union Secretary of the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Sanjay Kumar, today met with Education, Social Welfare, and Health & Medical Education Minister, Sakeena Itoo. During the meeting, he briefed the Minister on his recent field visits and assessments of schools across Budgam and Srinagar districts.
The meeting was also attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education, Shantmanu; Secretary, School Education, Ram Niwas Sharma; and other senior officials from the education department.
During the discussions, the Union Secretary assured full support from the Centre for the development and modernization of school infrastructure, aiming to ensure universal access to quality education for all children in Jammu and Kashmir.
At the outset, Minister Itoo emphasized the need to reform the Samagra Shiksha scheme, making it more student-centric and outcome-oriented. She also requested the establishment of additional ICT labs, particularly in rural and remote areas, and stressed the importance of deploying subject-specific teachers through Samagra Shiksha or other relevant schemes.
“Our priority is to expand vocational and skill-based education to ensure students are future-ready. Central Government support is crucial to upgrade infrastructure and elevate the education sector in J&K to new heights,” the Minister stated. She further highlighted ongoing efforts to accelerate teacher recruitment, improve the pupil-teacher ratio, and strengthen the overall teaching-learning process.
Union Secretary Sanjay Kumar appreciated the progress achieved by the J&K government and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to provide all possible assistance in developing robust school infrastructure, digital learning platforms, and capacity-building initiatives for teachers.
