Srinagar, August 25: Assuring that all colleges in Jammu and Kashmir would be provided adequate infrastructure and teaching staff, minister for higher education Abdul Gani Malik, however, said that areas for new degree and polytechnic colleges are yet to be identified.
The centre has sanctioned 11 degree and 18 polytechnic colleges for the districts which are not covered at present, Mr Malik informed the Legislative Assembly in reply to a clubbed question of Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan, Syed Bashir Ahmad, Jugal Kishore, Vikar Rasool, Mehbooba Mufti and Mushtaq Ahmad Shah.
The minister admitted that some of the colleges are functioning without adequate infrastructure and teaching staff.
We are on it and making all out efforts to provide better infrastructure and teaching staff to all colleges, he said.
However, all the members who had asked questions expressed dissatisfaction with the answer given by Mr Malik and wanted ”yes or no” from the minister if any degree or polytechnic college was being opened in their areas.
The minister informed the house that government will conduct survey of entire state before taking a final decision about the areas where these colleges would be opened.
Mr Bashir and Mr Jugal alleged that students, including women, had to travel 50 to 150 km to reach nearest colleges.
Mr Jugal contested the written answer to his question that a good number of colleges are available in and around Jammu city which are at a reasonable distance from Nagrota, the constituency of the member.
Nagrota constituency is not Nagrota town, Mr Jugal said adding some areas are 150 km away from Jammu, However, on this Bhartiya Janata party (BJP) member Prof Chaman Lal Gupta demanded that pressure on the Jammu colleges should be reduced by opening new colleges in the suburbs.
Mr Shah said that a degree college opened at Tral 20 years ago still has not science and commerce subjects with the result the students of this area had to get admission in Srinagar colleges.
However, the minister assured the member, he will see that science and commerce subjects are introduced as soon as possible in the college.
The Communist Party of India (M) member Mohammad Yousuf Targami demanded that a polytechnic college should be opened at all district headquarters in the state.
—Agencies