Making education skill-oriented, employment-focused in HP: Thakur

Himachal Pradesh education minister Rohit Thakur said that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 forms the cornerstone of sweeping changes in higher education

Comprehensive efforts are underway to make higher education in the state high-quality, modern, inclusive, skill-oriented, and employment-focused, said Himachal Pradesh education minister Rohit Thakur on Saturday.

Rohit Thakur said that the 142 colleges in the state reflect the continuous expansion of higher education. (HT Photo)

Thakur said this while inaugurating a two-day principals’ conference on ‘reforms in higher education’, organised jointly by the Himachal Pradesh department of higher education and the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) at Kullu on Saturday.

“It is the need of the hour to link education with knowledge, skills, research, innovation, employment, and entrepreneurship, rather than limiting it merely to obtaining a degree,” said Thakur.

Thakur said that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 forms the cornerstone of sweeping changes in higher education. “A four-year undergraduate degree programme has been launched in 26 government colleges across the state,” he said.

Thakur said that the 142 colleges in the state reflect the continuous expansion of higher education. A total of 5,071 appointments, promotions, and regularisations have been carried out across various categories, including the posts of 144 principals and 534 associate/assistant professors.

He noted that the process of filling vacant posts in colleges is ongoing, and the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission has issued an advertisement for 373 posts of assistant professor (college cadre).

He urged principals to focus specifically on the effective use of digital resources, faculty capacity building, and enhancing digital literacy among students.