University of Kashmir

The University of Kashmir (U-K, UoK) informally known as Kashmir University (KU) is a collegiate public state university located on the eastern side of Dal Lake in the city of Srinagar, India which was established in 1948. The main campus of the university is divided into three parts; Hazratbal Campus, Naseem Bagh Campus, and Mirza Bagh Campus.[3]

University of Kashmir
MottoFrom Darkness to Light
TypePublic
Established1948 (1948)
ChancellorLieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
Vice-ChancellorTalat Ahmad[1]
Students6,500[2]
Location
Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
,
India

34°07′57″N 74°50′15″E
CampusUrban; 247 acres (1.00 km2)
Affiliations
Websitewww.uok.edu.in

The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in the fields of liberal arts, business & management studies, education, law, applied sciences & Technology, biological sciences, physical & material sciences, social sciences, medicine, dentistry, engineering, oriental learning, and music & fine arts.[4] It has been awarded Grade "A+" by the NAAC on 20th May, 2019.[5][6]

History
1951: The first convocation procession of the University of Jammu & Kashmir led by Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, the Registrar. He is followed by the Vice-Chancellor, Wazir Janki Nath (Chief Justice), Sheikh Abdullah (Prime Minister of J&K), Pandit Nehru (Prime Minister of India), C. Rajagopalachari (the Governor-General of India) and Karan Singh (the Yuvraj at the time).

The inception of the University of Kashmir dates back to the establishment of Jammu and Kashmir University in 1948. In 1969 it was made into two full-fledged universities: University of Kashmir at Srinagar and University of Jammu at Jammu.

The University of Kashmir, since its establishment, has been focused at Hazratbal and encompasses three adjacent areas: Amar Singh Bagh, Naseem Bagh and Mirza Bagh. This campus is spread over 263 acres (1.06 km2).[3] It is the largest university by a number of full-time students in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

A major part of Amar Singh Bagh and Naseem Bagh constitute the Hazratbal campus which is laid out on the northeastern bank of Dal Lake. Earlier, many postgraduate departments, research and other centres were housed in Naseem Bagh. But the university resolved to develop Naseem Bagh into a heritage site and, thereafter, many departments were shifted to other areas of the Hazratbal campus.[3] As of April 2013 Zakura Campus is being developed on 300 kanals of land in close proximity to Hazratbal campus to meet expansion requirements of the university.[7] Mirza Bagh or "University Town" constitutes buildings housing quarters for the university staff.[3]

The idea of extending postgraduate programmes to colleges and establishing new campuses at Ananthnag and Baramulla was conceived by the then Vice Chancellor Prof Raees ahmad in 2002. He mobilised over 30 crores for the development of the university from the prime minister's fund for the overall development of the main campus and the establishment of the new campuses. The foundation stones were laid by Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and the plans of buildings were approved. The locations of the campuses had to be changed because of likely floods. After Prof Tareen the development of campuses took a long time and became operational in 2008/2009. The new social science block, the life science block, the examination block, the humanities block, the distance education block, the media block and many other buildings were constructed in 2001 and 2004 during Prof Tareen's period out of the PMs special fund. The 200-capacity convention centre was also completed.

The South Campus established on 259 kanals of land at Fateh Garh, Anantnag was started in October 2008.[8] The North Campus on 559 kanals at Delina, Baramulla was started in December 2009.[8] Three more campuses at Kupwara, Kargil and Leh are coming up.[9][10]

Present form

The University of Kashmir has grown into one of the largest universities. There are 12 faculties, 47 academic departments, 21 centres, 36 colleges and six (privately managed) recognised institutes spread all over the state. The two largest departments in student enrolment include Faculty of Law[11] and the Business School.[12]

The Faculty of Law being one of the oldest departments runs three courses LLB, LLM and B.A, LLB(Hons). The Faculty of Law has been successfully pursuing higher standards of academic excellence. The department has produced eminent jurists, lawyers, authors, civil servants and politicians. The department's student body, "Law Society," actively organises debates, seminars, and moot court competitions. The faculty publishes a refereed research journal, Kashmir University Law Review (KULR), which is acclaimed across the country and appreciated by academia, eminent lawyers and judges.[11]

The Business School has become an iconic institution in the field of management education and has been playing an incredible role in the growth of corporate sector and management education in India. Its Integrated MBA (IMBA) and Master of Tourism & Hospitality Management (MTHM) programmes are unique blends of strategic thinking, pragmatism in implementation and cutting-edge on relevance.[12] The courses offered by the department of Media Education Research Centre (MERC) in mass communication and journalism has been a boon for the youth of the valley. The centre has produced more than 800 postgraduates, about 80% of them are working with media organizations at local, national and international levels. The alumni of the centre are placed in reputed national broadcast journalism organizations like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, Sahara, Zee News, Times Now, Star News and national print media organizations like Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, The Hindu, Mail Today, Outlook, India Today, Tehelka, and The Week.[13] The masters programme in Kashmir and South Asia Studies introduced at the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Institute of Kashmir Studies[14] from 2013 academic session under a reformulated MoU between South Asia Foundation (SAF), India and the University of Kashmir, Srinagar has seen students in the state and across the border showing keen interest in studying Kashmir from a multi-dimensional perspective. Other faculties have made remarkable achievements since its inception with students preferring to pursue higher education from this university. In 2014 the university started its engineering college — Institute of Technology at the newly acquired Zakura Campus. Currently, the college offers four-year B.Tech courses in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

Campus

The university has 247 acres campus in Hazratbal. In order to make education more accessible to people living in remote areas of Kashmir valley, the university has established Satellite Campuses at Anantnag (South Campus) and Baramulla (North Campus). Three more Satellite Campuses at Kupwara, Kargil and Leh are being established.[3]

University convocation complex

Library

The university has a central library called Allama Iqbal Library. It has a collection of over 600,000 books including 415 rare manuscripts. It was established to cater the needs of scholars, researchers and students of the university. With the split of university in 1969, the library was shared by the two universities (University of Kashmir and University of Jammu).[15]

Hostels

The university provides residential facilities on a first-come-first-served basis to the teaching and non-teaching staff as well as to students.

  • Gani Kashmiri Hostel for research scholars pursuing M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes
  • Habba Khatoon Girls Hostel for female students
  • Mehboob-ul-Aalam Hostel for postgraduates male students
  • Shiekh-ul-Aalam (A.R) Hostel for male students
  • Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri Hostel for male students

Affiliated colleges

The University of Kashmir has 45 affiliated and 21 constituent colleges.[16][17]

Side view of the main building of Government Degree College, Sopore

Constituent colleges

  • Government Medical College, Srinagar
  • Government Dental College, Srinagar
  • Government College of Education, Srinagar
  • Institute of Music & Fine Arts, Srinagar
  • Government College of Physical Education, Ganderbal
  • DOEACC, Rangreth Srinagar
  • Composite Regional Centre

Permanently affiliated government colleges

Organisation and administration

Faculties, departments, and centres
  • School of Arts, Languages and Literature[18]
    • Department of Arabic
    • Department of Urdu
    • Department of English
    • Department of Kashmiri
    • Department of Foreign Languages
    • Department of Library and Information Science
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Department of Persian
    • Department of Sanskrit
    • Department of Hindi
  • School of Social Sciences
    • Department of Economics
    • Department of History
    • Department of Shah-i-Hamadan(A.R) Institute of Islamic Studies
    • Media Education Research Center (MERC)
    • Department of Political Science
    • Department of Sociology & Social Work
    • Department of Psychology
    • Department of Philosophy
    • Department of Library & Information Sciences (LIS)
  • Faculty of Business & Financial Studies & Management
    • Department of Business & Financial Studies (Erstwhile department of Commerce)
    • The Business School
  • Faculty of Education
    • Department of Education
    • Department of Physical Education
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Dentistry
  • School of Unani and Ayurvedic Medicine
  • Faculty of Engineering
    • Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (Zakura Campus)
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering (Zakura Campus)
    • Department of Electrical Engineering (Zakura Campus)
    • Department of Computer Science and Engineering (North Campus, Delina Baramulla)
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Music & Fine Arts
  • Faculty of Oriental Learning
  • Faculty of Biological Sciences
    • Department of Botany
    • Department of Biochemistry
    • Department of Zoology
    • Department of Biotechnology
    • Department of Clinical Biochemistry
  • Faculty of Physical & Material Sciences
    • Department of Chemistry
    • Department of Geology & Geophysics
    • Department of Mathematics
    • Department of Physics
    • Department of Statistics
  • School of Earth and Environment Sciences
    • Department of Earth Sciences
    • Department of Environmental Science
    • Department of Geography & Regional Development
  • Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology
    • Electronics & Instrumentation Technology
    • Institute of Home Science
    • Pharmaceutical Science
    • Department of Computer Science
    • Department of Food Science & Technology
    • Department of Information Technology ( currently under IT&SS)
  • Centres
    • Directorate of Physical Education & Sports
    • Directorate of Distance Education
    • Directorate of Life Long Learning
    • Directorate of Information Technology & Support System (IT & SS)
    • Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance (DIQA)
    • Directorate of Watch & Ward
    • Directorate of Hygiene & Environment
    • Directorate of Convocation Complex
    • Centre of Central Asian Studies (CCAS)
    • Centre of Research for Development (CORD)
    • Centre for Energy Studies
    • Centre for Biodiversity & Taxonomy
    • University Science & Instrumentation Centre
    • Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC)
    • State Resource Centre (SRC)
    • Public Relations Centre (PRC)
    • Centre for Career Planning and Counselling(CCPC)
    • Population Research Centre (PRC)
    • Allama Iqbal(A.R) Institute of Culture & Philosophy
    • Institute of Music & Fine Arts
    • Regional Study Center

Academics

University of Kashmir offers 107 courses across 11 streams at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. Under undergraduate programme, the university offers three-year Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Science streams, four-year Bachelor of Technology and five-year integrated BA LLB courses in different specializations. Under postgraduate programme, the university offers two-year Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Social Work, Master of Commerce, Master of Technology, Master of Pharmacy and Master of Computer Applications courses.[4] These courses are offered by different schools of specialisations which fall under their respective departments and faculties.[20]

Merit scholarships

Students selected for admission to various courses/programmes in the university are eligible to receive two merit scholarships which are paid to the top two merit holders. Merit scholarship in favour of previous year paid students is granted on the basis of merit in the entrance test to the course. In the final year, it is awarded on the basis of merit in the M.A/ M.Sc./ M.Com./ MLIS Previous/ 1st & 2nd semester examination. The scholarship is granted from the date of admission to the course up to the last date of the examination, subject to a maximum period of 12 calendar months.[21]

Research scholarships

There are four scholarships in each Department/Research Centre awarded for research leading to the award of Ph.D./M.Phil. degrees in addition to contingency grant payable annually for meeting miscellaneous expenses. From the year 2016 the number of scholarships per department was enhanced from four to six. The amount of scholarship paid to each selected scholar is Rs 5000/= per month for the period of maximum three years.

Students aid

The university has adopted a scheme called "Student Aid Fund" under which financial assistance is extended to students, particularly the meritorious ones from low-income groups. The Kashmir University Alumni Association also provides financial assistance to students with poor economic backgrounds with preference given to students who are orphans.

Rankings
University rankings
General – international
QS (Asia) (2020)[22]451-500
QS (BRICS) (2019)[23]201-210
General – India
NIRF (Overall) (2020)[24]78
NIRF (Universities) (2020)[25]48
QS (India) (2020)[26]56-60

Internationally, the University of Kashmir was ranked 451-500 in Asia in 2020 and 201-210 among BRICS nations in 2020 by QS World University Rankings.[22][23] In India, the QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Kashmir 56-60 and the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked it 78th overall.[24] and 48th among universities[25] in 2020.

Sports

The Directorate of Physical Education & Sports was established in the university in the year 1948 with the objective of promoting sports culture among the youth for the overall development of personality. Since then, it has hosted various inter-university tournaments in various sports like water skiing, kayaking, canoeing, surfing, sailing, dragon boating at zonal and national levels. The university students have also earned laurels to the university in International Winter Sports Championships. Adventure sports like mountaineering and trekking have also been introduced. Several training camps are also organised in the university to train the students pursuing different courses.[27]

The university has cricket, hockey, football, volleyball, handball, baseball, tennis, and basketball courts/fields and gyms within the main campus.

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. "Prof Talat Ahmad takes over as Vice Chancellor, Kashmir University". Greater Kashmir. 8 August 2018.
  2. "University of Kashmir: Review". EduRank.
  3. University of Kashmir, Official Website of. "About UoK". University of Kashmir. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  4. "Academic Programs". University of Kashmir.
  5. Complete List of Accredited and Re-accredited Institutions list under New Methodology - CGPA System (PDF), National Assessment and Accreditation Council, 2011, p. 160, retrieved 16 January 2012
  6. Accreditation status is valid for the following Institutions (PDF), National Assessment and Accreditation Council, 2011, p. 156, archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2010, retrieved 16 January 2012
  7. "Omar inaugurates Girls Hostel, lays foundation of Boys Hostel at Kashmir University". 3 June 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  8. Shafi, Showkat (14 August 2011). "KU at your doorstep". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  9. "KU to establish Kargil, Leh campuses soon". Greater Kashmir. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  10. "KU Kupwara campus on cards". Greater Kashmir. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  11. Kashmir, Department of Physics, University of. "Department Of Law, University Of Kashmir". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  12. Kashmir, The Business School, University of. "The Business School, University Of Kashmir". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  13. Kashmir, Department of Physics, University of. "Media Education Research Centre, UOK". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  14. Kashmir, Institute of kashmir Studies, University of. "Institute of Kashmir Studies, UOK". Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  15. "Allama Iqbal Library". University of Kashmir. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  16. "Name Of Colleges (Under the jurisdiction of Kashmir University)". www.kashmiruniversity.net. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  17. "Constitutent Colleges".
  18. Banday, Asim. "University of Kashmir". kashmiruniversity.net.
  19. "Law, University of Kashmir". law.uok.edu.in.
  20. "University of Kashmir: Programs Offered". Shiksha.
  21. "Financial Aids and Scholarships". University of Kashmir.
  22. "QS Asia University Rankings 2020". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2020.
  23. "QS BRICS University Rankings 2019". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2018.
  24. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Overall)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
  25. "National Institutional Ranking Framework 2020 (Universities)". National Institutional Ranking Framework. Ministry of Education. 11 June 2020.
  26. "QS India University Rankings 2020". Top Universities. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  27. "Sports". Directorate of Physical Education & Sport.
  28. "Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance". Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2017.

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