With the lockdown relaxed and Kashmir valley coming back to normalcy, the wards of non-migrant Kashmiris and Kashmiri Pandits are to get benefits in the field of education. The Education ministry has decided to provide relaxation in admissions. The wards of Hindu families living in Kashmir will get relaxation in cut off by 10% point in admission to universities and colleges, located in other parts of the country, from this year.
The Union Education Ministry has approved a proposal to provide relaxation to such students in consultation with the Union Home Ministry and the government of Jammu and Kashmir. Until so far, a 10% relaxation in cut off was provided to Kashmiri migrants only. The Ministry has decided to provide relaxation in admission to wards of non-migrant Kashmiri Hindu families following requests from Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley.
The wards of Hindu families living in Kashmir will get relaxation in cut off by 10% point in admission to universities and colleges, located in other parts of the country, from this year.
Both the University Grant Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have recently issued circulars to the higher education institutions asking them to implement the Ministry’s decision.
The Ministry has also written to all the States, urging them to provide relaxation to Hindu students from Kashmir in admission to the universities and colleges functioning within their respective jurisdiction.
“Ministry of Education in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to allow concession to the wards of Kashmiri migrants as well as Kashmiri Pandits/Kashmiri Hindu families, who are living in the Kashmir valley, in the matter of their admission in educational institutions in other parts of the country from the academic year 2020-21 and onwards till further orders,” AICTE said in a circular issued to all technical institutes last week.
The council asked the institutions offering technical and professional programmes to follow the Education Ministry’s guidelines while enrolling students from the valley.
As per ministry’s guidelines, the wards of the Hindu families, who reside in Kashmir, will be given relaxation in cut off and enrolled to higher education programmes from within the existing quota of 5%, earmarked for the wards of Kashmiri migrants.
Since the provision have been brought in to bring non-migrant Kashmiri Hindus as well under the ambit of the scheme, students from the valley will have to submit domicile certificate to get admission.
The institutes offering technical and professional programmes will have to reserve at least one seat in merit quota for the students applying for admission under the scheme besides providing 10% relaxation in admission cut off.
Under the scheme, all universities and colleges are required to increase their intake capacity upto 5% for admission of the wards of Kashmiri migrants and Hindu families living in the Valley.
The universities and colleges have to complete the admission process by the end of this month and start classes from November 1 in offline/online/blended mode. They can fill up the remaining vacant seats by November 30, according to a recent circular issued by the Education Ministry.