Arteev Sharma
Jammu: In Jammu and Kashmir, government degree colleges—the institutions of higher learning—present a glaring example of how such institutions ought not to be run, owing to inadequate space, limited classrooms, makeshift arrangements, poor infrastructure and a shortage of teaching staff.
A critical assessment of the facilities available and the quality of education being imparted to students reveals that several degree colleges established more than 15 years ago are still struggling to get permanent buildings, forcing them to operate from inadequate premises and compromising the academic environment.
The situation is even worse in several colleges established around six years ago, with a majority continuing to conduct classes from prefabricated structures due to the non-availability of permanent infrastructure, raising questions over the government’s seriousness and efforts to strengthen higher education, particularly in rural and remote areas of the Union Territory.
Official details obtained through an RTI application expose glaring gaps between the tall claims of the authorities concerned and the ground realities prevailing in these institutions.
To begin with, the Government Degree College (GDC) Jindrah, which was established in 2011, is presently operating from a makeshift arrangement of prefabricated structures from the campus of Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Jindrah.
The college has an enrollment of 119 students but has only three classrooms, a staff room and a Principal’s chamber. It also has a library reading hall-cum-stack area and a sports room for conducting sports activities.
“Owing to sinking of the soil bed and consequently development of cracks or faults in the newly constructed building which has been declared unsafe, the college is presently operating from a makeshift arrangement of prefabricated structure. No science subjects are being taught in the college as there is no provision of laboratories,” the official document said.
Shockingly, the three-storey college building was built at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore on a “landslide-prone site”. Before it could even be inaugurated, the building developed major cracks and was abandoned. For more than a decade, the college has been functioning from the GHSS Jindrah, depriving students of proper infrastructure.
Similarly, GDC Nagrota, established in 2019, is currently operating from Government Middle School (GMS) KandoliNagrota.
“It is a makeshift arrangement where there are only three classrooms, three laboratories and a library in the college. The total sanctioned teaching staff strength is 18, out of which 15 are filled, while the non-teaching staff strength is five against which six are filled. The new building is still under construction with an approved cost of Rs 12.07 crore,” the document stated.
The Government College for Women (GCW) Bhagwati Nagar was established in 2019. According to the RTI reply, “The college is functioning from its own building, which is a prefabricated structure. The college campus has four classrooms with proper seating arrangements, a browsing centre, NSS/Girls Common Room and a well-stocked library.”
The college has a staff strength of 18, including 13 gazetted employees. Its permanent building is being constructed at an approved cost of Rs 1,292.55 lakh. Construction work commenced in October 2021 with a deadline of 24 months, but only Rs 5.12 crore has been spent so far, according to the RTI reply.
Furthermore, GDC Jourian is functioning from Government Girls High School (GGHS) Jourian under a makeshift arrangement. The college has two functional smart classrooms and one well-equipped computer laboratory. Its teaching and non-teaching staff strength stands at 10 against a student enrollment of 271.
No science subject is being taught at the college, whose permanent building is being constructed at an approved cost of Rs 11.20 crore.
At Government DySP Aman Thakur Memorial Degree College Kastigarh in Doda district, the student strength is only 52, while nine staff members, including five gazetted and four non-teaching employees, have been posted.
The college was sanctioned in March 2019 at an approved cost of Rs 9.21 crore. Construction of its building commenced in November 2021 and was completed in September 2024. Despite the completion of the building, the college is still functioning under a makeshift arrangement.
GDC Kunjwani, sanctioned in 2019, is also functioning from a prefabricated structure. The college has a staff strength of 17 against an enrollment of 831 students.
The executing agency has set June 2028 as the target for completion of the college building, meaning students and faculty may have to continue with the existing makeshift arrangement for nearly two more years.
