army
Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) opened its graduate and post-graduate programmes to Army personnel who can now register at the university’s Centre for Distance and Open Learning to complete their higher education under the aegis of ‘Taleem-e-Taraqqi’.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for vertical and academic mobility of Army personnel and officers was signed between Vice Chancellor, JMI, Prof Talat Ahmad and Lt. Gen. Ashwani Kumar, Adjutant General, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).
With this Mou, JMI has acquired the unique distinction of being the only university in the country where personnel of all three forces can enrol themselves to pursue a degree of their choice. JMI had signed similar MoUs with the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy in the past.
These MoUs have enabled sailors and airmen to enrol themselves in the university. As many as 12,000 personnel have already been registered so far.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Talat Ahmad said that the arrangement will help Army personnel complete their higher education and improve their career prospects. It will be JMI’s way towards contributing to nation-building.
Reminding the gathering about JMI’s rich nationalist past and its role in the freedom struggle, Prof Ahmad said, “there is a collective realisation that our forces sacrifice a lot for us and so it is our duty to ensure a better future for them through higher education”.
Prof Ahmad said that it is a matter of proud privilege for the university to be able to serve all the three forces.
Let. Gen. Kumar said that JMI is a university that was founded on principles of nationalism and has produced great luminaries and visionaries. JMI, he said, has excelled in giving value-based education which brings out the fundamental traits of character necessary for a healthy, prosperous and a happy society.
Lt. Gen. Ashwani Kumar said given that personnel join the Army at a very young age and retire early, often in their 30s, it is imperative that they are provided with opportunities to complete their education, enabling them to find job opportunities outside the uniform.
Appreciating JMI’s efforts to uphold national pride and patriotism, he said that the MoU has been signed on the auspicious occasion of Ashtami which augurs well for the coming together of the two great institutions.
Among those present at the signing ceremony were Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof Shahid Ashraf, Registrar, Mr. A. P. Siddiqui, Prof Mukesh Ranjan, Coordinator International Relations and Outreach Programme JMI, Lt. Gen Gopal R., Director General, IHQ of MOD (Army), Major Gen. Sudhakar Jee, Additional Director General, IHQ of MOD (Army), other high officials from the Army and Deans and officials of JMI.
