In post-independence period, education has expanded at all levels in our State. A network of schools and colleges is to be found today. With this the percentage of literacy has also increased considerably. It is a good sign. It is an on-going process and a day will come when literacy in the State will be hundred percent. But it is not only literacy that will help the state move forward. Higher levels of education also need to be strengthened and supported. In that quest the Government opened 18 new degree colleges in 2008 to cater to the needs of student community in smaller towns and their peripheral areas. Finding that this step was received with good response, the government in 2011 added 24 more degree colleges to the existing number. These were opened at far off places as the students of those areas could not easily reach the nearest degree colleges on the one hand and on the other they did not want to put an end to their urge for further and higher education. This changed the situation completely and evidently higher education was to be brought to the doorsteps of each and every person who was desirous of perusing it. Additionally the Government opened extension campuses of the universities in both the regions of Kashmir and Jammu, which literally brought higher education to the very doorstep of our student community. These are highly commendable measures taken by the government and we should be grateful to the Government for undertaking the big project of expansion of higher education in the State.
However notwithstanding this extension, the institutions newly set up lack in infrastructure both in terms of accommodation and faculty. Most of these institutions are running in private accommodation and most of them are having only temporary faculties on contract basis. It is important that a higher institution should have the campus and the buildings of its own and should not depend on rented accommodation. Its personality does not grow in rented houses. This is one big deficiency in the infrastructure of these colleges. Secondly, most of these newly set up colleges do not have all the branches of study that are important in present context. Science Faculty is missing in most of them and only Arts subjects are taught. The reason given is that there are no laboratories and other paraphernalia needed for introducing science subjects. Thus these degree colleges remain restricted to Arts Faculty and do not cater to the needs of students who would go for science subjects.
While appreciating the intention of the government to expand education and bring it to the doorsteps of each and every citizen of the State, we would like to entreat the Government to pay attention to providing necessary infrastructure to these colleges. We have to raise the level of education of young students that would be compatible with modern system of education. We are aware of financial constraints that hold the Government back from lavishly funding the higher education chapter. But knowing that education is of paramount importance that can lead the State along the path of prosperity, it is advisable that the Government finds means of providing necessary funding to the institutions to transform into a modern and fully equipped institutions catering to the needs of the students.
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