SRINAGAR: Vice-Chancellor of University of Kashmir Prof Talat Ahmad said on Friday that young teachers have to align themselves to the changing paradigms of education to stay relevant beyond classrooms.
Addressing as chief guest the valedictory function of a two-week interdisciplinary refresher course in Information Technology, organised by the UGC-HRDC, Prof Talat said the National Education Policy-2020 provides an opportunity to teachers to attune themselves to the new interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research.
“These faculty development courses are no doubt required for promotion of teachers but these are very helpful in enabling them to increase their knowledge and learn something more than what they have already learned about their areas of specialisation,” he said, urging teachers to continue doing research alongside updating their knowledge and teaching-learning skills.
“This pandemic, while it has caused lots of disruptions, has opened up new avenues to see how best education can be provided and how quality research can be conducted in a blended (online-offline) mode,” the VC said.
“While taking advantage of all technological advancements, teachers have to constantly continue applying their own mind because the super-computer, the super-mind eventually is our own mind and nothing can replace it. Technology can only make things easier for us,” he said.
Dean of Academic Affairs Prof Shabir A Bhat, who was a guest of honour, said young teachers today must be prepared to share their knowledge, their wisdom and their understanding with their counterparts across the world.
“A major challenge for teachers today is how they can educate the future generation and see how enriched they become in their thought process, how they understand the interdisciplinary approach to education and how they connect their thoughts and ideas to other areas so that the teaching-learning becomes more applicable,” he said.
Prof Musthaq Darzi, Director UGC-HRDC said the Centre is committed to upgrade knowledge and skills of college and university teachers from all over the country, alongside providing them an excellent atmosphere to discuss issues of contemporary relevance in academia.
Coordinator UGC-HRDC Dr Geer Mohammad Ishaq said the Covid-19 pandemic has forced academics to explore alternative modes of quality education.
“The NEP 2020 therefore recognises leveraging advantages of technology while understanding its potential risks to ensure optimization of digital platforms and ICT-based teaching-learning tools,” he said.
Course Coordinator Dr Javed Iqbal said 80 teachers from colleges and universities from within and outside J&K UT participated in the refresher course and the topics covered included, among others, Bitcoins and Blockchain Technology, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining and its Applications, Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship in light of NISP 2019.
In their feedback about the refresher course, many participants including Dr Riyaz A Qureshi from University of Kashmir, Dr Ginny Anthony from Central University of Kerala, Dr Shah Lateef from Government Degree College Pampore and Dr Viqar Nissa appreciated the topics and experts chosen for the refresher course.

KR Desk