In a world where academic institutions are often perceived as conveyor belts churning out graduates, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Science and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K) under Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai’s stewardship has embarked on a revolutionary path. Rejecting the status quo of traditional education, he has embarked on a mission to sculpt not just qualified graduates but skilled, employable individuals equipped with the acumen to thrive in the modern professional landscape.
In an interview with Greater Kashmir Special Correspondent Syed Rizwan Geelani, Prof Ganai articulates the profound changes witnessed at SKUAST-K during his tenure, shedding light on strategic reforms, the fusion of academic excellence with practical application, and the envisioned roadmap for SKUAST-K as it surges ahead into a future teeming with possibilities.
It has been two years since you were appointed VC SKUAST-K. What has changed in SKUAST-K in these two years?
Basically, we were like any other university in contemporary times in India wherein most of the universities are still engaged in producing qualified graduates. A student gets admission in the varsity and after 4 years he becomes a graduate and leaves the university with a certificate in hand and goes for a job. This is what is happening predominantly everywhere. We considered that the certificate which they would take along after 5 years is nothing but a receipt of two things. One, the time he has spent in the university and the experience he has incurred and then he goes from door to door. But we said that it is not enough to produce qualified graduates but they are unemployable. They are qualified but unemployable graduates who lack a couple of things. They lack soft skills, communication, and leadership. They do not know about resource management and also lack some exposure to higher-order skills.
We create, through the existing educational system in India, a kind of uniformity as of date which has been going on for the last 70 years. Normally our education system in the country is killing the creativity of a person. When you send a child to school, before sending him or her to school, the child is very active, novel, very creative, and every parent believes that their child is the best in the world. But after one year of schooling, all children speak the same language and memorise two or four rhymes. We do not give them a space to nurture their inherent innovative talent. Now, with the New Education Policy, 2020, children will be asked what they want to study.
They will be given choices and flexibility. The NEP was launched in 2020 but we have a project in SKUAST-K called National Agricultural Higher Education Program (NAHEP). It is a World Bank-funded programme and we are part of that programme. When we started that project we gave a concept to it and we called it the Institutional Development Plan (IDP). So, even before the NEP, we had already stated that we would give our children the choice and flexibility to pursue what they desire. We came up with a model of education from this university which is now being followed across all the universities and many of our sister universities within the J&K have started following that model. Earlier SKUAST-K was producing qualified but unemployable graduates for lack of skills. But then we focused on outcome-based education. We are trying to nurture a student’s creativity and innovation. We are building leadership skills and giving higher-order skills with the ultimate goal that the student should be entrepreneurial and employable in high-paid industries.
Before you were appointed VC SKUAST-K, you were working as Director of Planning at the same university. As Director of Planning, you might have pointed out some priority areas for the university. Have you been able to address these issues in these two years?
Exactly what helped me here was that I was already a faculty here and I knew this university and served here in a subordinate position. So when I came as a Vice Chancellor I had already framed up my mind about what I am supposed to do. The NAHEP was started here before I became the Vice Chancellor, and I was the one leading it as the Director of Planning and Monitoring. The concept we provided was sent to the US, where experts evaluated it, giving our project a score of 10 out of 10, and another expert gave it 9 out of 10 points. They wrote that this could be a model for our education system in India. So, when I took over as VC, I had drawn up such a plan in my mind. I am fundamentally focusing on the quality of education. If you measure the quality of any institution, it is done through the quality of the graduates the varsity is producing. Immediately after I took over as the Vice Chancellor in 2021, I announced that we would have an undergraduate programme, and we would call it the Degree by Design programme. Now, other universities have started adopting this programme.
For all our PG programmes, we have introduced a sandwich mode. We have now decided that as part of the reforms, every PG and PhD student from our university will have to spend six months to a year in another university. For instance, if a student is from SKUAST-K, they may have to go to Tamil Nadu Agriculture University for six months. There, they will gain new experiences and exposure through this experiment. Another significant point is that I have shared with the government that our university’s purpose is not just to produce graduates but to see how we can boost the agricultural economy and increase the income of our farmers. Thirdly, with the ongoing climatic changes, we aim to make agriculture sustainable. So, our university has proposed a roadmap to the government for agricultural development, known as the Holistic Agriculture Development Project (HADP).
Another reform we implemented in the university is establishing an incubation centre to bring innovation among students. It is called the Sher-e-Kashmir Innovation Incubation Centre (SKIIC). Additionally, we introduced a policy in the university SKUAST Innovation and Start-up Policy for students and faculty. The purpose is to allow students enrolled in the university to register their companies if they wish to. We extended this opportunity to teachers as well. There is a prevailing notion across the country that faculty members cannot start their own companies, but we decided to allow them.
Essentially, it aligns with the National Innovation Startup Policy initiated by the Government of India. As a result, our university currently has 25 startups with 20 belonging to students and five to faculty members. The concerned faculty member serves as the founding director of his start-up. Eight of these startups have reached a maturity level where they are now earning profits. In line with the policy we established, they share a portion of their profits with the university. SKUAST is the first university in J&K where a student, whom we educated and provided guidance to returns a share of their profits to the university.
In India, there are 74 universities, each with its mandate. For agricultural universities, three mandates include teaching, research, and extension, where extension involves training farmers. We have introduced another mandate in our university, which is Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
There is a large mismatch between farm research and farm practice. How is SKUAST-K trying to bridge this gap?
We have a project in which we have conceptualised the idea that to advance agriculture, we need to formally skill our youth. Our target is to skill 2.50 lakh educated youth in the region. For this purpose, we have an online portal where people register, and this has to be done by both SKUAST- Kashmir and Jammu.
Moreover, MSME provided us with 55 skill development programmes last year, and this year, they have given us 555 skill development programmes. In these programmes, we plan to train 30,000 youth. At SKUAST, we simultaneously train around 30,000 individuals through short skill courses of varying durations. Our primary focus is to formally equip our youth with skills, with the overarching goal of leading agriculture into the realm of commercial agriculture.
Horticulture is the mainstay of the Kashmir economy. However, there are multiple issues facing growers. At least about technical assistance, why SKUAST-K has not been able to step in with necessary interventions?
Of the approximately 1.3 lakh hectares of land dedicated to horticulture here, most are traditional orchards. The productivity of these orchards is around 10 tons per hectare. In Himachal Pradesh, it is 7 tons. These orchards were traditionally planted, but technology came in between. However, SKUAST has played a significant role. If you visit our orchards, we initially experimented at SKUAST with the high-density orchard system, where we plant trees with a gap of about one meter. The productivity is about six times more. So, it has increased from 10 tons to 60 tons, and the J&K government has launched a major policy that we are planning to bring 5000 hectares under high-density plantation in two or three years. This means that our high-density orchard system yields fruit after two years compared to the traditional orchard system which takes five to 10 years. Now, people have so much confidence in the returns from high-density orchards that many companies are now planting high-density orchards for farmers here in Kashmir through the Department of Horticulture.
Our experiment has been very successful. Our challenge is that we need to diversify in this sector. Now, we will not solely base our economy on apples. We are now moving towards diversification, and with the start we have made, farmers are taking it up by themselves. Now, we need to provide them with some training in orchard management and canopy management, and we need to give them a decision support system. We will be introducing other fruits like blueberry, kiwi, and fig, which are currently uncommon here. Grapes also have good potential.
How does SKUAST-K envision itself in the next 20 years given emerging challenges in the agriculture and horticulture sector?
Our goal is to establish SKUAST-K as the premier innovation-led university in the country. Our focus is on being an innovation-led farm university, rather than engaging in traditional agricultural practices such as rice or pulse cultivation. We are aware that the challenges in agriculture, animal husbandry, sheep husbandry, horticulture, and forestry in J&K are unique to the region. We emphasise that solutions to these challenges cannot come from external sources. Therefore, we are committed to finding solutions ourselves. Currently, there is a trend in the entire country, including Kashmir, where people tend to look to Western countries for solutions to their problems. However, we firmly believe that the problems are ours, and we must find our solutions. We advocate for a shift in mindset, focusing on self-reliance and innovation. We have communicated to the government that, due to the environmental and climatic conditions in Kashmir, heavy industries and manufacturing are not feasible. Therefore, we proposed the concept of developing a bio-economy to strengthen our economy.
Our next significant target is to position Jammu and Kashmir as the country’s first model bio-economy state. We envision achieving this by harnessing the potential of our agriculture sector, particularly in
horticulture. Currently, the contribution of horticulture to our GDP is $4 billion, but the potential is much higher, estimated at $80 billion. Our strategy involves achieving this potential through green technology, sustainable practices, and commercial innovations. We are committed to preserving the environment and human health in the process. If successful, this endeavour will mark a transition towards a bio-economy and contribute to an evergreen revolution in India. Looking ahead, our target for the next 20 years is to make J&K the number one state in the bio-economy.
How do you view the research done at SKUAST-K?
I inquire from students how they perceive the quality of education to be. It pertains to the quality of graduates we produce, considering their entrepreneurial and research-oriented capabilities. When we refer to research, it is crucial to understand how we measure the quality of research. Many universities in the country typically gauge this by the number of publications. The common focus is on the quantity of publications, where researchers often boast about having a significant number of publications. However, the key question is to inquire about the impact of these publications.
In SKUAST-K, we assess the quality of research using various key indicators. Firstly, we look at the presence of your publications in high-rated journals. Secondly, we consider the number of patents, and thirdly, we evaluate the impact in terms of technologies and the establishment of startups. Regarding the quality of the publications, I can tell you that it is the best of all. In the second indicator, (patents), SKUAST-K stands out as the only university in J&K with 15 patents.
Questions are being raised on the recruitment process and some loopholes were pointed out in the last CAG report as well.
We have so far recruited 400 people during my tenure as VC SKUAST-K. The applications we have received so far were 20,000, but out of those, 19,600 applications were rejected. All of these were rejected during the selection process because we attempted to filter and choose the best ones. These applicants were spread throughout J&K but did you find anyone complaining about the recruitment? We have the most transparent system of recruitment in this university. The biggest selling point of our university is transparency and fairness, which we are maintaining. For this, we have utilised technology so that from the moment you submit your application until the final process, it remains transparent. No one knows about it. It has been entrusted to a department and they are instructed to maintain transparency. We keep on improving. When I sit with my faculty and other university officials, I never talk about achievements but I always talk about our weaknesses. J&K is among the top UTs or states in the country which is going towards efficiency and transparent appointments.
Several years back, graduates in Agricultural Engineering and Fisheries protested citing concerns about the lack of equivalence for their degrees by recruiting agencies. Is the matter now resolved?
The recruitment rules for sericulture, engineering, and horticulture are quite outdated. They were formulated based on the circumstances prevailing at that time. Now, we are approaching the government to consider relaxing and modifying these recruitment rules because, at that time, if we needed to hire someone in Sericulture, the candidate with BSc in Zoology as per the rules established back then was recruited for it. However, today, we have candidates with BSc in Sericulture available. Similarly, for the Horticulture Department, if we need to recruit someone, why should they have a BSc in Agriculture? It should be a BSc in Horticulture. The same issue existed in the Forest Department.
Coming to the enrollment, how do you rate your university, when it comes to student preference?
The challenge for us is that we have different types of admissions. One is done through the University Entrance Test. Second is that ICAR-sponsored candidates come. Although we do not invite them, they come on
their own under a specific quota. We are expanding globally by accepting international admissions. In ICAR, there is a 20 percent quota for all universities. Students are shown a list of universities and asked to choose the one they prefer. You won’t believe that 150 admissions have already taken place in the last two months, and there is tremendous pressure on us. When we asked them why they chose SKUAST-K, they mentioned that they preferred the university based on its rank.
SKUAST-K is the 4th best agricultural university. And in innovations, we are the best. We are at the top in startups. However the challenge with me is that I cannot hold these students in the hostels. The students who come to SKUAST-K prefer not to live outside the campus. They do not want to go beyond the campus boundaries. The accommodation within the campus is at full capacity. I shared a thought with the government that another significant sector for the economy could be educational tourism. J&K, with its stunning landscapes in Kashmir, flowing waters, and mountains, possesses natural beauty. We should tap into this natural bounty and attract global students to be a part of Kashmir. In this regard, we organised the first international educational fair in Delhi last year. It was well-received, and we received appreciation from the Foreign Ministry for attempting to reverse the trend. Previously, our students used to go abroad, but now we encourage foreign students to come to our universities. The University of Kashmir has tremendous potential, it is a very good university. Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) is a technical university. We believe that If India has visualised itself to be a developed nation by 2047, the slogan should be that J&K should lead Viksit Bharat. We should be the most developed state of the country in that Viksit Bharat and for that, we have to bring in all of these components.
You talked about foreign students. Last year SKUAST-K issued a notification for admission of foreign students. Can we have the number, how many who opted for this university?
We started working on changing the perception of Kashmir as not being a peaceful place last year, and received around eight applications this year. Now our target is to collaborate with others, especially in the Middle East and Central Asia, to attract students from those regions. We aim to create ambassadors for J&K. When students from abroad spend three or four years here, they will return and say J&K is safe, why are we afraid? We need that endorsement.
Besides your main campus at Shalimar. This university has other campuses as well. How are these campuses contributing?
If I claim that SKUAST-K is the 4th best university, it is the collective performance of all the units, faculty, including non-teaching employees. We conduct a foundation programme for freshers who are usually around 18 or 19 years old. When these students come here, they often bring stress with them. So, we thought that the first thing we should do is alleviate their distress, instill values of life, and teach them the art of living. We strive to maintain the vibrancy of this university regardless of the prevailing weather conditions.
Your tenure as VC was set for 3 years, and 2 years have already elapsed. What would be your priority areas for the rest of your tenure?
My focus from this point forward is on institutionalising the changes I had envisioned, making them an integral part of the system. Our goal is to establish SKUAST-K as a preferred destination for agricultural
education among universities for various reasons. Currently, we emphasise international partnerships, although the influx of students from abroad is not substantial yet. We have sent several students abroad, but we need to enhance our efforts in this regard. Additionally, we are not halting the student innovation initiative because even today, there are limited job opportunities in the public sector. To contribute to the economy of J&K, we aim to establish our enterprises and startups. I hope that, in the future, unicorns emerge from J&K. I am laying the seeds for the birth of such unicorns. We have chosen a mission for ourselves – to elevate the size of the agricultural economy from 4 billion US dollars to 80 billion US dollars. I hope we achieve these targets to enhance the quality of people’s lives, aligning with the slogan of our university. I want to emphasise that this cannot be accomplished by one or two VCs alone. Our significance does not matter. What truly matters is our ability to nurture leaders who are a hundred times better than us, shaping society. The next challenge is to foster socially conscious leaders who will contribute to shaping J&K, known for its glory.
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