Need to strengthen science Edu in colleges, universities

VCs of JK varsities meet in KU
The vice-chancellors of different universities in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday unanimously underlined the need to strengthen science education in the state by augmenting infrastructure and manpower in schools, colleges and universities.
The vice-chancellors were speaking at their high-level meeting with authorities of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The meeting, first of its kind, was organized by Kashmir University to discuss the DST’s Pilot Package Programme.
In his inaugural remarks, the KU vice-chancellor, Prof Riyaz Punjabi, reiterated that there was sharp decline in science education in educational institutions in Kashmir, particularly because of “lack of infrastructure” and manpower. “Because of limited infrastructure and intake capacity in science departments of our university, we are able to accommodate only a small percentage of students for different postgraduate programmes,” said Prof Punjabi while terming the meeting significant. “The meeting assumes significance as it is for the first time the vice-chancellors of all the universities in Jammu and Kashmir and authorities of DST have come face to face to discuss issues of vital importance,” he said.
He said the status of science education in Valley colleges was unsatisfactory. “It is because of the dismal infrastructure there,” he said. “But if the infrastructure is not augmented, we can well imagine the state of affairs in future.”
Prof Punjabi however expressed satisfaction over the working of science departments in KU. “Our faculty is contributing research papers for international journals besides completing different projects in time. This has been appreciated by professors of eminence who visited us from time to time in the past two years,” he said.
Prof Punjabi’s views were endorsed by the Jammu University vice-chancellor, Prof Varun Sahini. “Providing science education to students is the need of the hour,” he said. “But this requires sophisticated infrastructure. More than that there is need to inspire people for enrolling for science education.”
Prof Sahini suggested setting up of a “Task Force” to look into the issues confronting science education in Jammu and Kashmir. “It is important to make students understand the romance of science education and research,” he said.
The SKUAST-K vice-chancellor, Prof Anwar Alam, said modern science demanded modern infrastructure. “Without this the findings of researchers can be questioned anywhere in the world,” he said. “Having modern infrastructure in place can help upgrading scientific and research capabilities of our researchers,” he said.
The VC of BGSBU, Rajouri, highlighted the need to have more infrastructural facilities for the varsity. “We need round the clock power supply besides internet connectivity,” he said. “For furthering science education, it is essential to have well equipped laboratories in colleges and universities.”
The SKUAST-J vice-chancellor, Prof B Misra, said the decline in science education in the state was a matter of concern. “There is lot of scope for widening the canvas of research in the universities if proper infrastructure is put in place,” he said.
The vice-chancellor of Islamic University of Science and Technology, Prof Siddiq Wahid, called for coordination between different universities to avoid redundancy in science courses offered by them. “It is important to address issues from interdisciplinary point of view,” he said.
The secretary, DST, Dr T Ramasamy highlighted the importance of having proper infrastructure in place at the college level. “Because it is from colleges the universities receive students. It means the main source of input to universities is colleges,” he said while delineating over different projects and schemes the DST has regarding empowering science education. 
The KU registrar, Prof S Fayyaz Ahmad, termed the meeting very crucial. “This meeting is an interface between the vice-chancellors and DST and is aimed at discussing some vital issues pertaining to science education in the state,” he said.
The programme coordinator, Prof M Z Chisti, gave a brief overview of the Pilot Project of the DST. 
Among others the meeting was attended by the varsity’s Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof Aziz-ul-Azeem, advisor, DST, Dr A Mukhopadayay and Shir Sanjay Panday, Chief Officer Accounts, DST.