Professor Anu Bhasin, appointed the new VC, Jammu and Professor Sheikh Javid, appointed the new VC, Kashmir.
Two cluster universities in Jammu Kashmir will begin operations this academic session. All the participating colleges will now become constituent colleges of these cluster universities. The government has approved creation of 124 posts for these universities.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Chancellor of these universities, has appointed Anu Bhasin, Professor, Department of Physics, University of Jammu, as the Vice Chancellor of the Cluster University, Jammu, and Sheikh Javid Ahmed, Dean, Research, at the University of Kashmir as the Vice-Chancellor of Cluster University, Kashmir. The tenure of the VCs shall be for a period of five years.
Bhasin, a researcher in Experimental Particle Physics, with 355 publications to his name, is also an elected member of the Management Board, ALICE Experiment, CERN, Geneva. Prof. Ahmed, an IIT Alumnus with a PhD in Theoretical Physics, has published more than 125 research papers.
The CM has appointed Yaseen Ahmad Shah, Principal S P College, Srinagar as the Registrar of Cluster University, Kashmir and Jatinder Khajuria, Joint Registrar (Finance), University of Jammu as Registrar of Cluster University, Jammu.
The centrally-sponsored Rashtriya Ucchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) established the cluster universities to run a series of additional and advanced courses in the existing colleges. One college in Srinagar and Jammu will act as lead college for the varsities in their respective region. These varsities aim to augment the existing higher education facilities in the state as well as diversify the academics. Diploma, graduate and post- graduate courses will be offered in liberal arts, science, humanities, social sciences, engineering, teacher education, languages, entrepreneurship development, management. A number of latest job-intensive courses will also be offered from diploma to post-graduate levels.
"The move shall prove to be very successful in extending access to higher education by increasing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," said Education Minister Naeem Akhtar.
The total number of universities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir has now increased to 11.