J-K: In a first, ITI toppers felicitated at convocation ceremony

SRINAGAR: In a first, toppers from 72 trades taught at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Jammu and Kashmir were felicitated at a convocation ceremony held here on Sunday. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha presided over the convocation ceremony and felicitated the toppers.

"J&K has the potential to become the top-most place when it comes to skills. We need to focus on these institutions because they're creating the future of this valley. Mission Youth and other academic institutions are creating opportunities for youth. We will create an industry for these passouts who will not only learn skills there but get a job as well," Sinha said in his address.

Saurabh Bhagat, Commissioner Secretary Skill Development Department, said more than 12,000 students get ITI degrees every year. "Today, we felicitated the toppers from 72 trades in which we offer courses. Some of the students come from remote districts and they have topped at the national level." The trades have been introduced as per the requirement of the industry, Bhagat said. "We have introduced Surya Mitr, Smart City technician courses, food technology. We are introducing new branches like robotics and artificial intelligence. The purpose is that our passouts are industry-ready," he said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is getting huge investments and the ITIs will play an important role in industrial development of the union territory. "ITI sector is going to play an important role in the industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir. We want make this sector such that the youth should not only rush towards government jobs or white collar jobs. They can become entrepreneurs,” he said.

Bhagat said there is a need to increase the intake in the ITIs. "Our effort is to revise the syllabus, introduce such trades that as soon as the students leave the ITI, they get jobs. More than 60,000 students had applied for the 12,000 ITI seats that we have. In some ITIs where we have automobile trade, we have 50 applications for each seat. So we need to increase the intake capacity," he added. The LG also launched Innovation Portal by Jammu and Kashmir Science, Technology, and Innovation Council, Department of Science and Technology. An e-platform for ranking polytechnics in Jammu and Kashmir was also launched for more transparency. LG launched a revised curriculum for the 3rd semester as per the New Education Policy.