40 new degree colleges to come up in J&K

Forty new degree colleges will be opened across the state in a phased manner, the Jammu and Kashmir State Administrative Council (SAC) said Wednesday.

The decision to open the new colleges was taken at a meeting of the SAC chaired by Governor Satya Pal Malik. The new colleges would include the 26 degree colleges already sanctioned, an official spokesperson said.

Acknowledging the need for more colleges to provide access to hitherto deprived sections of the society, the SAC has decided to constitute a committee to finalise the phasing of the sanctioned colleges, he said.

The committee will examine the feasibility of likely locations, keeping in view the prescribed norms, besides factors like enrolment, student-teacher ratio, faculty deployment, geographical conditions and financial requirement, the official said.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, the Higher Education Department will seek approval for operationalisation of the sanctioned and the new colleges, he added.

The SAC also endorsed the proposal of opening a degree college in Drass and two administrative staff colleges in Srinagar and Jammu, the spokesperson said.

The increase in colleges is essential so that more and more youth get the benefit of college education and the gross enrolment rises from the current 26 per cent, the spokesman added.