Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today made a major announcement pertaining to faculty of all Universities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that their retirement age will be increased by three years from 62 to 65. He made the announcement fulfilling long pending demand of the faculty of Universities during his address after inaugurating Annual Youth Festival `Sonzal-2022′ at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar.“

The Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University has raised the issue of infrastructure and faculty shortage. Earlier also, I have discussed the issue about shortage of faculty in the Universities. As an immediate solution, the retirement age of the faculty is being raised from 62 years to 65 years,” Sinha said.

The orders to this effect will be issued shortly, he added. The Lieutenant Governor said the shortage of faculty is being felt in the entire country and an increase in their retirement age is the immediate solution.

However, he said, the selection process of faculty will go on.Earlier, the Lieutenant Governor inaugurated the Annual Youth Festival ‘Sonzal-2022′ at the University of Kashmir. Extending his best wishes to the participating youth on the occasion, the Lt Governor said that the annual festival is a great opportunity for young artists’ to showcase their talents and ‘Sonzal’ provides them with much-needed platform to achieve the dream of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, an official handout said.

Sonzal means rainbow, which is a symbol of hope, inspiration and good fortune. For students, rainbow finally arrives when they have space for individual growth, independent thinking and opportunity to discover their own hidden treasure that will contribute in nation building, he added.Observing that young students are multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, Sinha entrusted upon the educational institutions to discharge their responsibility to ensure freedom, creativity and engagement for them to become multi-achievers, and acquire knowledge & skills to thrive and shape their future.Creative pursuits are a great medium for the young students to develop leadership skills, human values, willingness to take risks, understanding the power of new ideas, competency to face future challenges and to nurture personality traits, he said.“Our focus on ensuring choice, collaboration, curiosity, communication, critical thinking, creativity, research & enhanced engagement in education system can create better education goals and equip students with the necessary skills, knowledge & values, he added.The Lt Governor said that education is not about the race to come first but education is about achieving the highest peak of values in life. “Institutions must ensure that the new learning framework and key concepts as recommended by National Education Policy are incorporated in curriculum,” he added.He further emphasized on laying specific focus on creativity, critical thinking, collaboration to replace curriculum overload, more hours of learning to quality learning time. Syllabus should be more adaptable and dynamic, providing space for cutting edge innovation, he added.The Lt Governor appreciated the efforts of the Kashmir University for making necessary changes to incorporate recommendations of National Education Policy. “University of Kashmir has been transformed into a centre of excellence and promoting scientific research, new ideas & knowledge, and adapting to rapid change across the world in fundamental aspects of the educational landscape”, he said.Prof Nilofer Khan, Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir spoke about the broad contours of the Mega Youth festival. In line with the directions of the Lt Governor, the academic progression as well as empowerment of youth is the core aim of the University and this youth festival is a step in that direction, she added.Prof Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice Chancellor IUST, congratulated the University of Kashmir for providing a platform for youth to showcase their talent.During the inaugural ceremony, the students of University presented a mesmerizing performance on University Tarana and a colorful Rouf dance performance.The best-performing youth will also get the opportunity to participate in the North Zone Youth Festival and later in the National Youth Festival.Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, ADGP Kashmir; Mohammad Aijaz, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar; Dean Students Welfare, Prof Aneesa Shafi; former Vice Chancellors; Registrar, Kashmir University; Directors of Satellite campuses; Deans, HoDs, research scholars and a large number of students were present on the occasion.