J&K Tribal Affairs Department approves reforms for student hostels

The Jammu and Kashmir Tribal Affairs Departments (TAD) on Saturday, July 2, approved a series of reforms for hostels across the Union Territory to provide state-of-the-art educational facilities to tribal students and focus on outcome-based quality education and skilling.

The Union Territory-level committee headed by Secretary of TAD, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, approved a number of measures and schemes to be launched with immediate effect from the current academic year for providing such facilities, an official said, as stated in a report by PTI.

The approval was given at a meeting which was attended by Special Secretary Harun Malik; Secretary Gujjar and Bakerwal Advisory Board, Mukhtar Ahmed Choudhary, director Tribal Affairs, Mushir Ahmed Mirza and financial Advisor Ashok Thukaan among others.

In a significant move, the official said, the department approved the “Technology Enabled Education Scheme” for hostel students under which students enrolled in Classes XI, XII and PG courses, will be provided tabs and PCs with pre-loaded study material including books, animations, mind-maps, resource material and references.

The students will be allowed to own the tab even after being relieved from hostels on completion of the course, he said. Over 1,000 students studying in the notified classes will be provided with these tabs before July 31, he added. 

The official said the Tribal Research Institute (TRI) has been entrusted with the course and content design for tabs and providing it to students. The tuition system in hostels was also given a boost with an enhancement in the honorarium for tutors, as it was increased from the existing rates of Rs 1,000, Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 for tutors of Classes VI to XII to Rs 3,000, Rs 4,500 and Rs 6,000 per month, respectively, a three-four times hike, the official said.

In an endeavour to provide educational facilities to the students throughout the year, the TAD has notified that hostels will operate and remain functional for 12 months instead of the present 10 months in a year system, he said.

“Special courses will be run during the vacation period for skilling of students including tribal students volunteering to enroll for such courses,” the official said. He said the committee also accorded approval for a 75 per cent enhancement in the daily diet rate increasing it to Rs 175 per student per day with immediate effect, up from the existing Rs 100 per student per day and further recommended an enhancement of Rs 300 per student per day to be taken up in revised estimates of the budget.

The official said the committee also reviewed the proposal for 25 new hostels which are being approved for the current financial year at a cost of Rs 100 crore and the completion of languishing hostels, many of which were pending in absence of requisite approvals and codal formalities for the past many years.