Four years on, polytechnic colleges await renovation
Srinagar: In what has exposed the sluggishness of the government to restore flood-hit educational institutions, the two prestigious polytechnic colleges in Kashmir are yet to be renovated by the government even after passage of over four years when floods created havoc in Kashmir.
KG polytechnic college and government polytechnic college for Women Srinagar were severely damaged during the 2014 floods, causing a huge damage to the infrastructure as well as the academic setup in the institutions.
“But four years have passed and the government is yet to provide any assistance to these polytechnic colleges which has affected the functioning of these colleges,” an official said.
The official said both the polytechnic colleges resumed classes post floods after minor repair work was done in the institution but the buildings are yet to witness any proper renovation.
“The colleges didn’t receive any funds from the government to take up renovation work,” the official said, adding that the polytechnic department had claimed to provide special grants to these two colleges. “But the commitment remained confined to only papers and government never paid any attention to these institutions,” the official said.
Also, the department has delayed the engagement of around 324 persons for newly established polytechnic. The move has caused a dearth of teaching and non-teaching staff in the institutions.
“The proposal has been submitted long back and is awaiting approval from the government,” the official said, adding that the finance department was delaying the process for unknown reasons.
He said the dearth of staff in polytechnic colleges is telling upon the quality of education in the institutes which will ultimately prove detrimental for the students enrolled here.
Deputy Director Polytechnics when contacted said the directorate has submitted a detailed proposal to the administrative department in technical education department wherein they have requested to resolve the grave issues pertaining to academics as well as the infrastructure.
“We have attended various meeting with the government regarding these issues and are expecting that all the issues will be addressed,” he added.
KV Correspondent
