In a new move, the government degree colleges have decided to close such subjects which have meagre enrolment of students.
An official said the colleges have instructed the studentsthat no admission will start in the courses if the number of students applyingfor admissions is less than 10.
The move comes at a time when the governor administration isopening new colleges across the state, citing demand of students particularlythose living in far off areas.
An official said the students are denied admission invarious subjects at under graduate level due to the poor response of thestudents in the streams.
Government Degree College Ramnagar Jammu is a case in point,where the college authorities have directed the students that they won’t begiven admission in the college in streams like BCA, BBA, Philosophy andPsychology subjects if the number of students seeking admission is less than10.
Other degree colleges have put the students under sameinstructions leaving them disappointed. The fresh admission session of thecolleges in Jammu started recently.
“It is utter disappointing,” an official said.
The decision has also agitated the college faculty andparents of the students.
“We appeal the governor administration to intervene into thematter and instruct the higher education department not to close admissionprocess in the streams which have been started after struggle by the localpopulace in the area,” a group of faculty members told Greater Kashmir.
The decision has cost the educated unemployed youth dearlyas the colleges are not hiring contractual lecturers and teaching assistants oncontract basis.
It may be recalled that the governor administration hasannounced 102 new degree colleges in state in past one year citing thenon-availability of higher education facilities for students in rural areas.
Director Colleges J&K, Muhammad Yaseen Shah, said thedecision has been taken by government to streamline the process for hiringcontractual lecturers and academic assistants in colleges on contract basis.
“The issue needs to be understood properly. Government hasto make arrangement of teachers in colleges. In colleges having sanctionedstrength we have the provision of hiring of contractual lecturers,” Shah said.
He said it becomes problematic for the government to hireacademic arrangement teachers for colleges which don’t have sanctionedstrength. “In these colleges, the burden of academic arrangement gets shiftedto students enrolled in the particular stream as the salary is managed from thefee of students,” he said.
In view of this, the government has decided to hire theacademic arrangement for such streams where the number of students is more than10 or 15. “Otherwise the admission of students becomes virtually self-financedwhich is unethical. So, if the enrolment in any college is less than 10, thestudents should try to get admission in adjacent colleges,” he said.