Lack of higher educational institutions as well as absence of security policies put a question mark on the system writes Maajid Rashid Andrabi
Education opens the doors of wisdom and emasculates ignorance. In true sense, a nation progresses only when all of its citizens are educated enough to turn their dreams into reality. Highly qualified faculty, better quality education and adequate resources in addition to proper infrastructure are the basic necessities that make a good quality educational environment.
But when we glance at the present scenario in the valley, one gets a really strange feeling about the underdeveloped educational sector. Owing to the tough competition and poor infrastructure in this sector, the students of the valley have meagre chances to get themselves admitted for various courses being offered by a relatively low number of higher educational institutions due to the limited number of seats available.
Failing to make it to the list of successful candidates haunts the students and makes them search for other alternatives that could be effective. They are thus, left with no other option than to move outside and acquire the necessary skills to move forward in their area of expertise.
Now, searching for the institutions where they can receive education is not the only challenge for them, but a more serious problem given the reports about harassment of students at outside colleges for being Kashmiris.
The unfortunate news of some Kashmiri students being harassed time and again is a clear example of the ‘malice trend’ against Kashmiris that is getting worse than ever. Instances of violence against them in Haryana have been on the rise and now students pursuing their education in Jhansi too have become the victims of this condemnable act.
It is not for the first time that such incidents are being reported, but time and again students have continued to suffer. These have raised concern of all and are now viewed as a new challenge that the government needs to address in order to safeguard its youth. If the same problem continues to persist, it can have long lasting impressions on the students.
The increasing number of students migrating outside for further studies is a clear indication that the state govt is unable to provide them with resources that could meet the need of the hour. Why has the state government forgotten its responsibility to honour the obligation of providing a safe and secure environment to its students so that they can achieve their intended goals, without having to move outside.
Lack of higher educational institutions has become a serious problem for the students as they are unable to get themselves enrolled for higher studies in their home state. The state govt could fix the problem by establishing more universities while at the same time ensuring that there is an adequate intake capacity.
This will not only save many students the trouble of moving outside, but also help to solve the problem of unemployment by providing an opportunity to qualified people to render their services towards development of the educational sector.
(The writer is a management student, Lovely Professional University. Feedback at [email protected])
