After giving recognition to the north campus (Delina) and south campus of the University of Kashmir (KU) as research centres to carry out research programmes, academicians have demanded creating more schools in these satellite campuses to enhance funding for these two campuses.
Vice Chancellor (VC) KU Prof Talat granted recognition of satellite campuses in north and south Kashmir as research centres for carrying out the research programmes in various postgraduate disciplines being taught at these campuses.
The recognition was granted on the recommendations of the Standing Operation Committee of the Research Council and in anticipation of the approval of the competent bodies.
As per the order issued by the Assistant Registrar Researches, the research programmes would be carried out with the departmental research committees to be headed by the respective directors along with the members of the faculty recognised for being supervisors.
The academicians while welcoming the move demanded that the KU administration should create different schools in these two satellite campuses citing that it would help in getting enhanced funding from the Niti Aayog.
“The Niti Aayog is presently working on a paper to provide funding to universities directly through the school system. The money shall go to the school rather than the individual departments. So, the university will receive more funding if it has more schools,” a university professor said.
A senior professor and noted academician who has held positions of Dean and Registrar said that the university could create more schools and ask for more funding for carrying out the research programmes in these campuses.
“The Niti Aayog is likely to issue its policy document in the near future to announce the pattern of funding which will be as per the number of schools in the universities. For this, more such schools can be created to catch up with the upcoming policy documents of Niti Aayog,” he said.
Dean Academic Affairs KU, Prof Shabir Ahmad Bhat said that to have more schools in the campuses they need to introduce different departments in the campuses.
“Like in the main campus we have School of Business Studies in which we have Commerce, Economics, Management, Finance and Tourism. Similarly, to create a school in the north or south campus we need to have different departments,” he said.
Bhat said in the north campus they have engineering and management.
“So our motive is to introduce more branches of engineering like electronics and communication besides more programmes in management as well,” he said.