As UG admissions open, varsity asks 30,000 Ladakhi students study outside to ‘come home, grow here’
Arteev Sharma
Jammu: With University of Ladakh (UoL) announcing admissions for its various Undergraduate (UG) courses for the academic year 2025-26, the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Saket Kushwaha has made an emotional and stirring appeal to Ladakhi students studying across the nation, urging them to return to their homeland for their higher education.
While reaching out to Ladakhi students, the Vice Chancellor, in his message titled “A Call to Ladakh’s Future Minds,” conveyed his deep affection for the region and his compassionate vision for its youth.
“To all Ladakhi students, wherever you are, this is your call. A call to return not just physically, but spiritually and intellectually to your land. A call to believe that you do not have to leave your soil behind to receive a world-class education. You can plant your dreams here, and they will grow,” the V-C said.
Highlighting the significance of the University of Ladakh, established post-UT status to the region, Prof. Kushwaha said, “Ladakh has always been a land of depth, resilience, and quiet brilliance. Now, in this sacred landscape, something extraordinary is unfolding—the rise of our own University of Ladakh. Not just a building or a name, it is a living institution, a symbol of Ladakhi self-reliance, wisdom, and promise. In just a few years, the University has begun to transform into a centre of academic excellence, innovation, and cultural pride. It is young, but it is fearless.”
Prior to the establishment of this University, nearly 30,000 Ladakhi students had no choice but to pursue higher studies outside the region. Colleges in Leh and Kargil were once affiliated with the University of Kashmir, with limited access and local opportunity. This was despite Ladakh comprising nearly 58 percent of the erstwhile state’s geography, with a sparse population of around three lakhs.
The Vice Chancellor added that the University offers a broad spectrum of undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. programs across sciences, humanities, social sciences, and emerging disciplines. “More than just courses, we offer a mission,” he said. “To empower our youth to rise from within—deeply rooted in identity, reaching confidently into the future.”
He put forward a threefold vision: “Learn in Ladakh, Lead from Ladakh, and Build for Ladakh”.
Learning here, he said, is “not a compromise—it’s an awakening,” where ancient wisdom meets modern knowledge.
“Students do not need to leave their roots to become a leader. Leadership here is not imported—it is born of community, language, and lived experience. The challenges of Ladakh are unique and they demand leaders who understand them from the inside. Your leadership will not be borrowed, it will be born from your lived experience, your community, your language, and your values. And building here means transforming education into service—into a gift returned to the land that shaped you. ,” the Vice Chancellor said.
“This university is not a place to pass through, “It is a place you belong to. Its strength will be measured not by rankings or buildings, but by the spirit of its students.….You have a choice today—one that generations before you did not have. The opportunity to pursue excellence without leaving your own place. To learn, lead, and build not in spite of where you are from, but because of where you are from,” he said while inviting Ladakh students “warmly, sincerely, and proudly to join this journey”.
Meanwhile, the admission notification stated that students can apply online and offline applications till June 18, while normal class work in all seven constituent colleges affiliated to the University and NIELIT Leh for the BCA programme will commence on July 1.
