Arteev Sharma
Jammu: At a time when Science and technology are shaping the future of the country’s youth, students in such areas continue to be denied the basic opportunity to study science at the undergraduate level, forcing them to migrate to cities and towns for pursuing higher studies.
This is despite the expansion of higher education infrastructure in rural and far-flung areas of Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. Several Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) established between 2011 and 2019 are still functioning without Science streams, laboratories and specialised faculty.
Consequently, students aspiring to pursue Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and other science-based disciplines are compelled to travel to Jammu, Udhampur and other urban pockets, thereby undermining one of the key objectives behind opening colleges in rural areas.
Information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from various degree colleges clearly reflects the gap between expansion in the number of institutions and the availability of academic infrastructure.
While new colleges have been established in educationally backward and remote areas, many continue to offer predominantly Arts subjects, with some also offering Commerce. For students and their families in such areas, particularly those from economically weaker sections, a college in the neighbourhood offers little relief if they still have to travel to Udhampur, Jammu or other urban areas to study the subjects of their choice.
In 2011, as many as 22 degree colleges, including two in Ladakh, were established under the centrally sponsored scheme “Establishment of Model Degree Colleges in Educationally Backward Districts” and the State Plan. In 2019, the government announced 42 more degree colleges, including two in Ladakh. However, several of these institutions continue to function from makeshift arrangements and lack the infrastructure required for Science education.
To begin with, Government Degree College (GDC) D H Pora in Kulgam, established in 2011 but the college is yet to introduce Science subjects and it continues to offer Arts and Commerce.
Similarly, GDC Jindrah, also established in 2011, continues to function from makeshift arrangements in Government Higher Secondary School, Jindrah, and offers only Arts subjects. Students from the area who wish to pursue Science are compelled to move to degree colleges in Udhampur or Jammu, making the very purpose of establishing a degree college closer to their homes virtually irrelevant.
Government Model Degree College Kalakote, established in 2011, presents a similar picture. Apart from Environmental Science, the institution continues to offer Arts subjects, leaving students seeking a wider range of science disciplines with limited options locally.
The infrastructure deficit is even more glaring in some of the colleges established in 2019. GDC Dangiwacha in Baramulla, for instance, is yet to have a permanent building. The college continues to function from prefabricated huts, while only the Arts stream is being offered, with Education, Political Science and Kashmiri among the major subjects. The construction of its permanent building was yet to be initiated, further raising concerns over the pace at which basic facilities are being created.
Likewise, GDC Doongi in Rajouri, established in 2019, continues to function from makeshift arrangements in Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Sasalkote, with no Science stream being offered. Similar conditions prevail at GDC Mattan in Anantnag and GDC Pouni in Reasi, both established in 2019, where students are offered Arts and Commerce but continue to remain deprived of Science subjects.
At GDC Kralpora, established in 2019 and functioning from prefabricated huts, students continue to have a limited choice of major subjects, including Political Science, Urdu and Sociology. The absence of a Science stream further restricts opportunities for students from the surrounding rural areas.
The problem is not confined to Kashmir. In the Jammu region, GDC Marheen in Kathua, GDC Batote in Ramban, GDC Jourian and GDC Nagrota in Jammu district, all established in 2019, continue to function from makeshift arrangements and largely offer Arts subjects. Education, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Hindi and Physical Education constitute some of the major subjects available to students.
Sunil Sharma, a native of Jindrah, said students wanting to pursue Science had little option but to leave the area. “For families with limited financial resources, travelling to Jammu or Udhampur means additional expenditure on transportation, accommodation and living expenses. These costs can make higher education unaffordable,” he said.
Talking to The News Now, Manisha Devi, a resident of Pouni, regretted that merely establishing a college did not bridge the rural-urban education gap. “If students are still required to migrate to cities for the subjects they want to study, the presence of a college in our locality does little to serve its purpose,” she said.
She said the government must focus not only on opening more colleges but also on providing permanent buildings, laboratories, qualified faculty and diverse academic programmes, particularly in Science.
