An open day refers to a day when an institute, university or a college invites the prospective students along with their parents to visit the campus and explore its facilities, teaching, atmosphere and other infrastructural foundations. The concept of open days is a practised and old one.
Schools, colleges and other institutions have been hosting open days for years and decades. Parents and students often look forward to the open day. It’s a day of zest awaited by the parents and their children who happen to be the potential students of such institutions, equally.
As every set of parents want to support the best education for their children, the children also look for the best available options. The open days serve as the peeking windows into the institutions that are under consideration for the prospective students and their parents.
In Kashmir, the concept has not been widely practiced till date. However, the Islamic University of Science and Technology has been conducting the open day annually for a long time by now. It is an event that is always overseen by the Honourable Vice Chancellor himself.
All the faculty and the currently enrolled students along with the supporting staff alike participate in the event. The university in fact notifies the transport schedule and all the people who register for the event or allowed to board the university buses for the special occasion.
Each year, this day brings in a lot of people under the aegis of the Islamic University of Science and Technology for academic integration and growth purposes.
Both the prospective students and their parents have displayed an actively participate in these open day activities. Simultaneous, workshops and discussions are conducted within the campus on the same day to inculcate a widespread awareness among the participants.
However, in light of the New Education Policy (NEP) and the changed course of events in the upcoming academic map of the country, there is an immediate need that all the educational institutes from across Kashmir, inclusive of all its colleges, universities and polytechnics/skilled institutions start conducting and celebrating the open day.
The students and their parents both equally need a widespread awareness drive in light of the NEP, in order to help them make the best possible career decisions.
All the institutions corresponding all the educational levels, be it under-graduate, graduate of postgraduate need publicising the new course of educational set-ups and activities in light of the updated educational degrees and pursuance.
There is an immediate need that all the institutions from across the Kashmir region come together in a collaborative manner to foster a conducive academic atmosphere in light of the implementation of the NEP.
The variety of courses offered by different institutions needs to be brainstormed keeping in view the job market requirements in the immediate economy and the broader accessible one.
It is to be made sure that no degree overlaps and maximum number of degrees are offered across various disciplines for a diverse opportunity set creation.
For the open day again, the institutions need to come together, collaborate, brainstorm and decide the course of events mutually to cater the needs of all the prospectus students across the valley.
Following the lead from the Islamic University of Science and Technology, the other universities and colleges of the valley must immediately start to prepare for the open day(s). They need to target the catchment students and their parents equally.
Following this, a proper plan needs to be charted-out in light of the subjects and the course to be offered.
Given the pace of the change in the course of events and the upcoming sessions, the institutions for the current and the next year, need to host more than one open days, in order to disseminate the information properly, correctly and minutely.
An online coverage of the event is also needed to attract students from the Northern India in particular and the whole country in general.
It is only through an informed system of wide information exchange, that the academic and educational map of Kashmir is. The valley of Kashmir needs to be very active in its educational domain in order to make the region successful in both the impartation of the right Education and the eventual simultaneous employment creation and generation of these newly trained and skills youth bulge.
(Author teaches Economics at IUST, Awantipora, Kashmir )