Kupwara: The residents of Rajwar in North Kashmir’s Handwara Sub District Wednesday appealed to authorities to establish a Government Degree College in the area to ensure the end of hardships faced by students.
They said that, since Rajwar comprises over sixty villages, establishment of a Government Degree College for Rajwar was the need of the hour.
The residents said that the students from Upper Rajwar are the worst affected and have to travel almost twenty kilometers to reach Handwara and attend college there.
A student from Lachampora said that they have to spend Rs 100 on an average every day to attend a college. “My father happens to be a labourer; he is not in a position to pay me Rs 100 every day. It would be better if a college is established at Zachaldar so that our miseries would end,” he added.
“I do manual labour for two days a week and manage my bus fare in that way to attend the college. I leave home at 8 am and reach back at 5:30 in the evening. Had there been a college in our area I along with other students from our area would not have been suffering,” a student of Check Sarmarg said.
Female students are also anguished by the lack of a college at Zachaldara. “Every day we have to first travel some twenty kilometers to reach Handwara and since college happens to be at a distance of more than one kilometer from main town Handwara, so we are bound to travel this distance either by foot or board a cab,” a BA female student from Satkochi told Greater Kashmir.
Mohammad Suliman Bhat, senior Peoples Conference leader, said that the students from over sixty villages of Rajwar are forced to travel to Handwara to attend college there. According to Bhat this “is injustice to the students of Rajwar area.”
“The people from Upper Rajwar are not financially well off, so they are unable to spend much on the education of their wards. Authorities must understand the miseries of poor students of Rajwar area and establish college at the earliest for Rajwar,” he added.
The residents have sought immediate intervention of Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha for establishment of Government Degree College at Zachaldara so their children may not suffer further.