Any sane dispensation , in present day system with Government are supposed to behave as welfare states, must exercise its jurisprudence while sanctioning Degree College for a particular area. We ask people at the helm of affairs; why not the demand of Degree College Paddar?
During last about four years, many degree colleges have been opened in our state simply on pick and choose basis without any yard stick or criteria. It may be mostly on the basis of political clout prevailing in the said area. To me it seems that criteria should be educational, economic and social backwardness but sadly finds no place in the minds of the political class.
Here is a recent Government Order No. 285 HE of 2018 Dated 11/04/2018 sanctioning 6 new Degree Colleges in Chenani, Mongri, Vijaypur, Dongi, Ramkote and Dudu Basantgarh.
Paddar is a most backward, remotest, inaccessible, hilly neglected area with its boundaries touching with Zanskar in the North and with Pangi (HP) in the Eastern side and is of course a Sub Division. The whole area of Paddar comprises of 32 revenue villages and all have been declared as RBA (Reserved Backward Area) because of its social, economic and educational backwardness.
It is a sad but a hard fact to digest that there is no other Sub-Division in the entire state of J&K which does not have a Degree College but Paddar.
The poor children have to come to District Headquarter Kishtwar for Higher Studies after travelling about 20 – 40 kms on foot and then 60 kms by road to reach Kishtwar town. Shoudnt this suffice as a valid reason for the Degree College in Paddar?
Now lets shed some light on the efforts that are being made for the sanctioning of Degree College in Paddar below.
The letter above dated 14/07/2016 that is written by Mr. Sunil Sharma MLA Kishtwar and MoS to Dr. Jitender Singh Hon’ble MoS in Prime Minister’s Office putting forth the genuine demand of Degree College in Paddar.
No doubt the matter was taken up at the highest level and there was a response dated 28 Sep 2016 from HRD Minister Mr. Prakash Javdekar to Mr. Jitender Singh. Here is the letter that was accessed in response:
Important points that are made in the response above:
- The new colleges in J&K are being funded under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)
- A proposal has to be made under State Higher Education Plan (SHEP) by the state government for the sanctioning of college which was however clearly not made in our case.
- It was denied because our Government did not consider the demand of college in Paddar to be of importance under the plan and hence was excluded.
Also read:
- Burning Demands of Paddar
- Lackluster Performance of Secondary Schools and the Need for Soul Searching
- Pity plight of education in rural areas of JK
Almost 2 years have passed since the response to follow the procedure and to resubmit the plan to HRD Ministry. Clearly, there has been no progress on the issue and our demand of college has been thrown in the cold storage while new colleges in other parts of the state continued to be awarded.
The political bosses have assumed that the poor people of Paddar are their bonded voters for ever or the Degree College should not be opened up for higher education so that they get awakened, become a threat and start asking questions. Whatever be the case it is a matter of shame for those who see the area from the glasses of region, religion or any other reason best known to them.
If this is not open bias and discrimination with the people of Sub Division Paddar with huge SC, ST and RBA population then what is? All this has created great confusion, discrimination and insecurity amongst the people of Paddar for their genuine demand of Degree College in Paddar.
Do give your feedback in the comments below if you would like to add something.
Share the article if you feel that Paddar deserves its due share of Higher Education. Like us on our Facebook Page for regular updates and Subscribe our YouTube Channel.