Anantnag, June 19: Vice-Chancellor University of Kashmir Prof Nilofer Khan on Monday visited the varsity’s South Campus where she chaired a glittering curtain-raiser ceremony of a five-day student festival ‘Satsoas’ scheduled to be held next month. The VC also chaired a meeting of faculty members on the campus to take stock of its academic functioning and facilities available for the students.
‘Satsoas’ is a multicolour and multidimensional event and will include a range of extracurricular activities to raise awareness on four key themes including drug addiction, climate change, domestic violence and preservation of cultural heritage. It will engage students from across the University’s campuses and affiliated colleges. The event is being held under the umbrella of G20 events and draws its basic idea from engaging students in creating mass awareness on various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Vice-Chancellor appreciated the Director South Campus for conceiving the idea of ‘Satsoas’, saying the festival will encourage young students to share their views and creative expressions on these key themes having wider societal significance.
“We want our students to become the ambassadors of awareness on such pressing social and environmental issues,” the VC said, exuding confidence that students in large numbers, especially the girl students, will actively participate in the festival which will see major events like debates, quiz, painting, drama and poetry competitions, among others.
Notably, this was the Vice-Chancellor’s fourth visit to South Campus since her assuming the charge in May 2022.
Registrar Dr Nisar A Mir, who was a guest of honour, appreciated the talent exhibited by the students of South Campus at the curtain-raiser ceremony. He said the University is focussing on creating more infrastructure and student amenities in the campus in near future.
Director, South Campus, Prof Raies Ahmad Qadri gave a detailed account of various events lined up during ‘Satsoas’, and also apprised the Vice-Chancellor about the academic activities of the campus.
The VC later chaired a meeting of all faculty members, where she listened to their views and concerns pertaining to further progression of the South Campus.
Saying that South Campus is the oldest among satellite campuses, Prof Nilofer said the University is committed to ensure its further development in tune with the future requirements.
She sought a roadmap in this regard in sync with the vision of the campus to develop it into a full-fledged residential campus in future with benchmark facilities for the students and faculty.
Urging the students and faculty to stay focussed on their academic and research goals, the VC called for greater synchronisation between the main and satellite campuses for equal emphasis on academic and extracurricular activities.
The VC said some more academic programmes are being launched in the campus after the University evaluates their future prospects like job placements etc. She also sought a detailed report about the status of admissions in each department with the view to examine their academic outcomes and further progression.
The VC also assured to address all genuine concerns of the faculty and passed spot instructions in this regard.
The VC was also accompanied by her Special Secretary, Dr Tanvir A Shah, besides officials from the University Construction Division.
Earlier, at the curtain-raiser ceremony, Dr Javaid Iqbal delivered a formal vote of thanks, while Ms Moonin Jan conducted proceedings of the event.
