Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 22: Minister for Higher Education, Mohammad Akbar Lone today clarified in the House that there has been no discrimination against any region in either release of funds or sanctioning of posts in the department.
Making a statement in the House today, the Minister said that the Government is committed to carry out the construction of colleges as per the programme already sanctioned, by partial funding from Central Government and rest from the State plan. However, there are issues of land acquisition, tendering and court cases due to which works at some places could not be started. The department is taking all steps to resolve all these issues and funds for all the colleges shall be released based on the requirement commensurate with construction pace.
The Minister said that since there was an allocation available in the plan and since CE R&B Jammu had not been able to finalize the cost through e-tendering this coupled with land acquisition issues at a number of locations, had held up the construction of college buildings at many places. Therefore, even though in the current years plan, the allocation for construction of college buildings has been made for all the colleges, the releases would be in proportion to the pace of physical progress only as otherwise funds would lapse. Again there is no instance of any particular college being released funds over and above the approved cost, he added.
Mr. Lone clarified that as against 48541 enrolments’ of students in Jammu division, 78575 students enrolled in Kashmir division. He said there are 778 teachers available in Jammu as against 634 teachers available in Kashmir division. He said the teacher to student ratio in Jammu division is 1:52 while as for Kashmir division it is 1:123.
The Minister said 50 posts were sanctioned for PG courses in Jammu division as against 37 in Kashmir division. But, he said this was not out of discrimination but out of requirement and strictly as per the number of courses which had been introduced at different times.
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