Can our rich invest in education sector and establish best colleges and institutions here so that our students need not to go outside Kashmir? This is the question which our intellectuals, some politicians and the netizens in general, ask on the social networking sites these days. Many suggesting that if we have to live a dignified life, we have to create our own resources. The discussion ensued in the wake of the attacks, harassment and expulsion of Kashmiri students pursuing different courses in the institutions in various parts of the country, following the Pulwama incident. There has been a mounting concern over the safety of these students with their parents and the whole society on tenterhooks praying for their safety. Every year thousands of students from Kashmir move outside the state invest their parents’ hard earned money for quality higher education. While cherishing the idea of having quality institutes of learning in Kashmir, we need to make a complete analysis of various challenges and shortcoming.
During 2018 we saw, protests, demonstration and road blocks from people at various places demanding degree colleges for their area. Once I asked one group-leader on face-book, who was campaigning vociferously for the same, that why you are demanding a college when you have two colleges available equidistantly at 15 km on either side of your Tehsil-road? The higher education doesn’t mean you have a college, in your backyard and you will jump over the fence to the college ground, learn lessons, come back, latter have a job and spend rest of life there. Most of our colleges today are still under-staffed, without buildings, infrastructure and other necessary facilities. What will be the fate of a newly established college? It is not a crime to cherish for having a quality institute of learning but it takes a long time to build one. By then we will be wasting the talent of our youth and you know, it will have a negative cumulative effect. Institutions of higher learning can’t be successful if they are spread everywhere, where good faculty becomes difficult to arrange and retain. What is the use of establishing a college for a few hundred students who could have been provided scholarships or relocated in hostels around central colleges to optimize the utilization of existing facilities? These institutions will continue to contribute to un-employability rather than adding value to the lives of our youth. Sadly I could not convince the man and they succeeded in getting a college for their area.
Building quality institutes is not a commodity in the market to be purchased and put on the institutions. Quality can be attained over a long period of time through sincere efforts, dedication, perseverance and skillful execution. It is an elusive term, the more u work on it, the more you have to do again. Ideas like building Aligarh Muslim University in Kashmir in a year cannot take place. The Indian Higher Education is the third largest in the world, next to the United States and China. It has witnessed a tremendous growth in the recent past with 40,000 Colleges and 800 Universities in 2018. India has been adding more than 1,000 colleges per year and during 2007- 2009, the country added 7,206 colleges. Despite this huge expansion and the boast of experts, the country does not have a single institution in the list of top global universities. Today India is one of the largest producers of engineers in the world, yet the quality of engineers is so poor that only 7-8% of engineering graduates are employable. The All India Council for Technical Education has already put 800 engineering colleges under scanner for closure. Coming to J&K state, we have nearly 100 Govt academic colleges and 9 universities and now more 40 new degree colleges will be opened across the state. The premier colleges in existence for centuries are lacking the basic facilities and practices of higher education.
The politicians have all along dominated our lives since 1947, promising moons, winning elections to enjoy power and influence rather than caring for our better future. They created an atmosphere where we developed sponge not to work hard, live dishonestly on others, be corrupt, earn money legal or illegal, purchase assets, construct palatial houses, spend extravagantly on marriages and enjoy life. We lost the right path. Our institutions were taken over by a disease of cronyism, corruption, mediocrity, bias, hatred, which is affecting everyone-the upright, the compromised and the institution. Today we are struggling and we have become a hugely dependent society. This we can judge best when the national highway remains closed for a week and we suffer for pity small items. We have no knowledge of sustainability and how life runs. Two decades back, there was a wave of establishing BEd colleges in Kashmir and hundreds of such colleges were established in every nook and corner of valley. It turned out late that there was no quality of education and their sole aim was to make money and this became the reason that most of these college are now in shambles. Show me if there is any quality institute, private or govt in the valley, for which we should be proud of? No doubt we can work on our deficiencies but it is so hard to cure our in-built culture. A time may come when we will be forced to come out of this mist and that will usher in a new life for all of us.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the iconic Muslim intellectual during the revolt of 1857, was moved by the appalling backwardness of Muslims in terms of education, economy and polity and he felt increasingly concerned for their future. Being well aware of the changing times and how progress was eluding the Muslim community, he stood against religious orthodoxy and emphasized on modern scientific education. We should take a cue from his progressive mindset and the legacy he has left behind. If one man can bring about so much change in the lives of Muslims, a society as a whole can do wonders. If a Shrine Board can establish a quality university like the Mata Vaishnov Devi University, why Wakf Board cannot do it? Why businessmen and capitalists cannot come forward to raise funds for this cause? We too can build high quality engineering and medical colleges, business schools and universities for our better future. There has to be a beginning in this direction. At the same time, in a newly developing trend, the foreign universities are wooing Indian students with scholarships to join their institutions for higher studies. Our students can also seek admissions in foreign universities to fulfill their career in a better way. In the globalized scenario the education or jobs are no longer confined within the country but are available across the globe. Our youth need to roll up their sleeves for these opportunities.
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