Jammu Dec 19 PTI Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said the two-fold objective of the National Education Policy NEP 2020 is to correct past anomalies and introduce contemporary provisions that are in keeping with the present global trendsHe was addressing the Cluster University teachers here at an interactive academic programme on the NEP-2020 organised as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit MahotsavSingh emphasised that the demography of education has changed region-wise gender-wise and profile-wise which can be judged from the fact that women now have a greater representation in civil services and people from other regions are topping different exams which was earlier the prerogative of only a few regionsHe stressed that the responsibility of educationists today is not to award a degree but to teach to achieve ease of living which can happen only when youngsters are able to find a sustainable start-up source of living for themselves instead of harping on government jobsThe Union minister of state for personnel said the greatest anomaly in the previous education policy was the nomenclature itself and the Ministry of Human Resource Development HRD was a misnomer misrepresentative in itself having other connotationsHe further said as India has now become a part of the global world and is being recognised as Jagat Guru the education parameters should be in keeping with the global standards if it has to compete and excel globally according to a statement issued by the personnel ministrySingh said one of the new provisions of the NEP-2020 in the form of multiple entry-and-exit option is something to be cherished as this academic flexibility will have a positive impact on the students as regards availing of different career opportunities at different times depending upon their intrinsic leaning and inherent aptitudeHe also said the entry-and-exit option can be opted in the future for the teachers as well giving them career flexibility and opportunities to upgrade as is done in some western countries like the United StatesStating that one of the objectives of the NEP-2020 is de-linking degrees from education Singh said linking degrees with education has taken a heavy toll on the countrys education system and the society as wellOne of the fall-outs has been an increasing number of educated unemployed he saidThe minister maintained that technological interventions in education are a boon for the students of this generation and emphasised that teachers should also be able to keep up the pace with the students who are moving ahead too fast owing to accessibility of information avenues means and talentHe said when the society has become gender neutral and language neutral it has to become teacher-pupil neutral now so as to make Indias education system a bilateral phenomenonSingh said besides the education of students equally important is the education of the teachers parents and elders as the challenge is not only optimum education but to prevent dis-education which is never discussedDuring the interaction Principal Secretary Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education department Rohit Kansal said education and ideas lie at the heart of achievement and a society full of ideas full of vision is ultimately going to progress and lead the othersProfessor Bechan Lal Vice Chancellor Cluster University Jammu in his welcome address said the NEP-2020 is widely accepted and appreciated for its creative provisions PTI AKV TAS RC

Jammu Sep 29 PTI Some student groups Wednesday staged separate protests against the higher education department here to increase undergraduate seats in all the constituent colleges of Cluster University JammuProtesters including activists of the National Student Union of India NSUI and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP took to streets at different places and later dispersed off peacefullyA group of protesting students came out of Government College for Women at Gandhi Nagar in the city and tried to block the main road in support of their demand for increasing the intake capacity and infrastructure improvement in all the constituent colleges the officials saidHowever they said the protesters were persuaded and driven back into the college premises by a strong posse of policemen who were rushed to maintain law and orderWe are holding a protest to highlight the grievances of the students who were denied admission in the general category by the cluster university despite having secured above 80-90 per cent marks in the previous class a protesting student saidHe said the Cluster University should immediately raise admission seats as was done by the Jammu University so that more students can get admissionSeparately students affiliated with NSUI assembled outside the press club here and burnt an effigy of the BJP to protest the denial of admission to the students by the Cluster UniversityThe Cluster University of Jammu is playing with the future of the students who despite securing above 85 percent marks in the class 12 examination are not getting admission in the colleges said Sunny Parihar who was leading the protestStudents affiliated with the ABVP also took to the streets at different places and staged peaceful protests in support of the aggrieved students and sought their admissionThe protesters threatened to intensify the agitation if the government failed to enhance admission seats in all colleges affiliated with the Cluster University PTI TAS AB TIR TIR