A Timely Boost For Our ITIs

For years, the word ITI has carried a small sadness in Kashmir. Parents spoke of it as a last resort. Students joined because there was no other option. The workshops were old, the machines older, and the training often had little connection with what industry actually wanted. So the news that the Centre has approved Rs 475.41 crore under the PM-SETU scheme for ten Government ITIs in Jammu and Kashmir is genuinely welcome. The money is not small. The Jammu cluster gets Rs 240 crore and the Srinagar cluster Rs 235.41 crore. Each cluster will have one hub and four spoke institutes. ITI Jammu will lead R.S. Pura, Nowshera, Samba and Kathua. ITI Srinagar will guide Ganderbal, Kangan, Budgam and Charar-i-Sharief. This cluster model is wise, because one strong institute can lift the surrounding ones instead of each struggling alone. But money alone does not fix things. What matters is how it is spent. Workshops need modern machines. Trainers need proper training themselves. Courses must match what the market needs — not what looked good ten years ago. If a student learns a trade and still cannot find work, then the whole purpose is lost. So, the focus on industry partnership with private firms is encouraging. It must be real partnership, not just signatures on paper. The Chief Minister has thanked the Prime Minister and the Union Minister, and rightly so. But the real thanks will come when a young boy from Kangan or a girl from Charar-i-Sharief finishes her course and gets a decent job near her home. That is the test. Let this money reach the workshop floor. Let the machines arrive. Let the trainers be trained. And let our youth walk out of these ITIs with confidence and skill. If that happens, this Rs 475 crore will be the best money spent in a long time.