Srinagar, September 7: The Directorate of Colleges on Monday released JK_SIGMA, a mobile application designed to provide students of Government Degree Colleges across Jammu & Kashmir with a direct and confidential channel to raise grievances and receive official information.
Director Colleges, Dr. Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, released the application, which is the mobile version of the Students Integrated Grievance and Messaging Application (SIGMA) developed in-house by the Directorate.
SIGMA has been operational through the Directorate of Colleges website since June 2025, when the Higher Education Department launched it as part of its ICT initiatives aimed at strengthening student empowerment and improving communication between students, colleges and the department.
Around 1.6 lakh students from 142 colleges are currently registered on the platform. Since its launch, the system has received and facilitated the resolution of a substantial number of student grievances.
Speaking on the occasion, Director Colleges said the mobile application would make it easier for students to directly connect with the department. The application is available free of cost on the Google Play Store and can also be accessed through the Directorate’s SIGMA portal.
The application enables students to receive official bulletins from the Higher Education Department and their respective colleges, submit grievances, track their progress and rate the response received after resolution. Bulletins can also remain accessible on the device when there is no active internet connection.
The Directorate said the feedback mechanism would allow it to assess how effectively institutions are responding to student concerns, rather than merely tracking the number of complaints received.
On the administrative side, JK_SIGMA provides role-based access to authorised college and Directorate officials, along with statistical dashboards and alerts for grievances that remain pending beyond the prescribed time limit.
The system also provides confidentiality safeguards. The identity of a student submitting a grievance is not disclosed to the concerned college without the student’s consent.
The Higher Education Department said the initiative is part of its efforts to build a more responsive, transparent and student-centric higher education system and advance its broader goal of academic excellence.
Colleges have been directed to verify student records on the Directorate Portal, conduct awareness programmes about the application and ensure that grievances received through the platform are addressed within two days.
