Chapter 5: Education & Skilling

Introduction

• The administration's development models all revolve around the importance of youth. Hence, it is essential to give the Ladakhi young the knowledge and tools they need to lead the region forward and serve as a role model for others to follow.
• In the past two and a half years, the administration has concentrated on utilising this demographic dividend and enhancing the skills of Ladakh's youth so they may actively contribute to the region's sustainable progress.

Good Education and Supporting Infrastructure

• The University of Ladakh (UoL) was founded as a cluster university in 2019 and is made up of 6 constituent institutions that are located in Leh, Kargil, Nubra, Zanskar, Khaltsi, and Drass.
• In order to accommodate the increasing student population, the infrastructure of the constituent colleges has also been enhanced. Faculty development initiatives, student exchange initiatives, and visiting faculty all work to raise educational standards.
• Infrastructure projects of over Rs 200 crore have been approved for the institutions in the years 2021–2022, as part of the Special Development Package for the new UT of Ladakh, which was declared by the Government of India.
• All new construction is accessible to students with impairments and uses solar passive energy in keeping with Ladakh's goal of becoming carbon neutral.

Scholarships

• The Ladakh administration introduced the Rewa (Ladakhi word meaning expectation) Scheme in 2021 to provide merit-based financial aid of up to Rs. 1 lakh to deserving students in Class X and XII, regardless of their family's income. This was done to promote academic excellence and diligence among students.

Involvement with Indian Institutes of Technology

• The sponsored M.Tech programme is also a part of the relationship with the IITs and enables 12 Engineering Graduates from Ladakh to pursue the M.Tech programme in these IITs each year.
• It is suggested that an engineering college be established in Kargil in order to increase the options for students in Ladakh to pursue technical education.

Skiiling

• Ladakh has two Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), one in each district, in addition to the two Polytechnic Colleges. New workshop facilities with cutting-edge machinery are being built to bolster the infrastructure of the two ITIs.
• The Ladakh Skill Development Mission (LSDM) was established in 2021 to develop and direct the skill development programmes under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and other skill development programmes of various Ministries in order to further strengthen and expand the skilling ecosystem in Ladakh in accordance with the National Skill India Mission.

Apprenticeship

• Starting in June of this year, the Ladakh region began putting the Apprenticeship Act into practise by issuing an order.
• Entrepreneurial Education
• In order to make entrepreneurship a credit-based subject in both ITIs and higher education institutions, a comprehensive project is being designed.
• The Department of Industry has also undertaken a number of projects, such as establishing the Ladakh Incubation Centre, providing training in leather goods, investigating the export market for fruits, handicrafts, and handloom, among others.

Going Ahead

• Ladakh is capable of providing a special carbon-neutral development model, but this can only be done with the active involvement of all stakeholders, the citizens being the most significant. Youth must be made the driving force behind the growth narrative for this to happen through education, skill development, innovation, and entrepreneurship.