Belying the tall claims of successive regimes of Jammu and Kashmir over upgradation of infrastructure in education sector, in an 8 room single dilapidated building in frontier district Kupwara a college for women and Middle School are functioning simultaneously.A delegation from Salkoot Kupwara told CNS that around 41 degree colleges have been approved under different centrally sponsored schemes and state plans from 2008 and 2011. However all of them are without government building facilities and are functioning from makeshift structures.They said that in a government middle school building at Salkoot Kupwara, authorities asked school management to vacate from four rooms of the building and later on women’s college was set up in those four rooms.“In an 8 room building, both middle school and college are functioning, thus adversely affecting the standard of education. There is one toilet, no library, no laboratory and other facilities. Even the building lacks a playground,” the delegation led by Abdul Satar said.
The heads of both the educational institutions admitted that students have been facing enormous problems. Shaista Banoo, Head Teacher Middle School said that the functioning of two educational institutions from a single building have been taking a heavy toll on the students.Principal Women’s College Nazir Ahmed told CNS that land for the college have already been identified in the same area but according to him even after spending a whooping Rs 2 crore rupees, the JKPCC has only been able to construct plinth that too from past two years.When contacted a top official from Education Department said that they have directed the JKPCC to expedite the pending construction work on all colleges.Pertinently, the Government of India in year 2008 approved ten colleges for the state under Prime Minister’s reconstruction Plan (PMRP) phase II. However the buildings of all the colleges are yet to complete. (CNS)