Low enrollment in new colleges a cause of concern: Education Minister
Srinagar, Oct 31: The Minister for Education, Sakeena Itoo, on Friday expressed concern over the low enrollment in the new degree colleges established across Jammu and Kashmir after 2019, saying the Higher Education Department (HED) is taking steps to make them fully functional.
Replying to a clubbed question from MLAs Nizamuddin Bhat, Dr Rajeev Kumar Bhagat, Muzaffer Iqbal Khan, Choudhary Akram, and Dr Rameshwar Singh in the Legislative Assembly, the minister said that while the new colleges have better infrastructure, they still lack several essential facilities.
“The new colleges have good infrastructure, but we acknowledge that student enrollment is low. The main reason is that students continue to prefer older, established institutions,” she told the House.
Sakina said that despite these challenges, the government remains committed to ensuring higher education reaches the doorstep of every student.
“The colleges established after 2019 do not have all the required facilities yet, but we are working to make them vibrant and to attract more students,” she said.
She urged legislators to help in encouraging admissions to these institutions. “The Members who raise demands for upgradation should also play their role in increasing enrollment in the new colleges,” the minister said.
The minister informed that 52 newly sanctioned degree colleges would be made fully functional before any new proposals for additional colleges are considered. “Upgradation will not happen under political interference. It will be done strictly as per public requirements,” she said.
Emphasising that education and health are the two pillars of a developed society, Sakina said these sectors “should not be seen through the prism of vote bank politics.”
On the establishment of Degree College Manjakote, the minister said a State Level Empowered Standing Committee had identified 72 kanals and 15 marlas at Village Lower Saroola, 9 kanals at Village Lower Mangar (Nagar), and 56 kanals of custodian land at Talwad, Dehri Dhara, for the project.
Regarding Degree College Arnia, she said the proposal is being evaluated on feasibility parameters. “The existing GDC RS Pura and GDC Bishnah, located about 17 km away, currently cater to the area’s needs,” she said, adding that a new college would be considered only after optimum enrollment is achieved at the existing ones.
At Degree College Lohai-Malhar, Sakina said the government had decided to set it up due to the area’s remoteness and distance—around 60 km—from GDC Bani.
Responding to a query about a women’s college in Bandipora, she said the existing GDC Bandipora currently caters to the region’s higher education needs, with 497 female and 530 male students enrolled. “Seven degree colleges are operational in the district, each with a nearly balanced ratio of male and female students,” she said.
