The State Government showing utter apathy to the uses and benefits of models of information technology that have been developed exclusively for educational purpose, specifically the distant education. We often hear State Ministers and top bureaucrats exuding commitment to going out of way to help student community of the State have access to the internet which has become the unprecedented instrument of knowledge in present day times. Keeping in mind that J&K State was a mountainous State and in comparison to some of the neighbouring States it was still somewhat retarded in educational sector, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) provided EDUSAT facilities to the State some years back. Two main connectivity hubs were established one each at the Government Women College, Srinagar and Government Women College, Gandhi Nagar in Jammu. Equipment worth crores of rupees was provided and installed by ISRO. The State Government entered into a contracted with ISRO that after three years, maintenance and repair of EDUSAT would be taken over by the State Government. The EDUSAT worked satisfactorily and a large number of educational institutions to the tune of one hundred in the State made use of the facility for their student community.
After completion of three years of the agreement, ISRO asked the State Government to take over the item of maintenance and relieve their staff. The Government showed its disinclination arguing that it was not in a position to cuff up 70 lakh rupees annually for the maintenance of the hubs. Taking very liberal view of the situation the ISRO agreed to extend the contract by one more year, which has expired in 2012. It is more than a year and half that the machinery and equipment with crores of rupees is lying idle and collecting dust because the Government is not willing to bear the cost of annual maintenance. We are not convinced that this is the real reason for the government to wriggle out. It has to be reminded that during the power point presentation before the Union Planning Commission, the Government boasted of providing two EDUSAT hubs that were providing connectivity where as the connectivity had been stopped for more than a year and half. Imagine the Government hoodwinked not only the student community but even the Planning Commission as well. There could be other reasons for the State authorities to adopt cold shoulder towards a dire requirement of the student community.
Disconnection with EDUSAT has affected about a hundred educational institutions and thousands of students, particularly those who were benefiting from distance education progamme. Imagine in this era of advance information technology, the Government is harming the interest of student community for a paltry annual sum of 70 lakh rupees. We would like to impress upon the Government that the lame excuse of not being able to cuff up 70 lakh rupees by way of annual maintenance cost of two hubs of EDUSAT is not having takers. It should not make a laughing stock of itself by publicizing stories that cannot convince even a layman. By adopting a lackadaisical attitude, it is harming the interests of the student community.
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