Govt Degree Colleges see alarming drop in student intake

Srinagar, Oct 14: The Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) across J&K have witnessed a major decline in admissions at the undergraduate level, throwing up a major challenge for the J&K government to address the issue.

The decline in admissions has been witnessed at a time when the J&K government is taking credit for being the first Union Territory or State to implement the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 and also participated in the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for offering admissions at Undergraduate (UG) level to the students.

According to the officials, the decline in admissions has been witnessed over the past few years as students did not opt for these colleges to pursue their UG courses.

In the wake of this, the Director Colleges, Higher Education Department (HED), Prof Sheikh Aijaz Bashir issued an official communication to the principals of all the colleges seeking their suggestions to address the major issue.

“We have been witnessing a major decline in student enrollment across all the disciplines for the last few years and we need strategies for addressing this major issue,” an official communication, addressed to all college principals, reads.

The college principals have been asked to forward their opinions and suggestions in a one-page write-up only in a bullet format “so that we have a deeper insight into the issue at hand”.

The principals have been asked to treat the matter as “most urgent” and their replies should reach the department by October 15, 2024.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Director Colleges Prof Sheikh Aijaz Bashir acknowledged the decline in admissions and said that the students, after passing class 12th exams, want to earn while learning.

“This is one of the reasons why degree colleges are witnessing a decline in admissions as they prefer to pursue UG courses through IGNOU instead of opting for regular mode of studies,” he said.

The Director Colleges attributed the decline in admissions to the students getting accommodated under the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme (PMSS) to pursue UG and other professional courses.

“Around 5000 students are accommodated under PMS which is a major chunk of students,” he said.

The Director Colleges said that the suggestions and feedback had been sought from the college principals and further action would be taken accordingly to address the issue.

“The HED has opted for CUET and we are trying to create awareness among students about it as well. But students do not appear in the exam,” he said.