Pandu College

Jorhat, April 18: Dispur’s flip flop on higher education has put quite a few colleges in the state in a fix.

The office of the director of higher education at Kahilipara in Guwahati had recently directed all colleges in the state to continue admissions to higher secondary in the ensuing academic session.

In the last two years, many colleges had stopped admission or decreased the number of seats in Plus II following a UGC directive that all degree colleges should delink higher secondary level. Sivasagar College and Pandu College have already stopped admitting students to Plus II since the 2010 academic session.

The March 12 letter from P. Jidung, director of higher education, Assam, to all principals and authorities of government and provincialised colleges states that the Assam education (higher) department had decided to continue the Plus 2 level in degree colleges till the government takes a final decision on the bifurcation. Therefore, it is mandatory for college authorities to continue admission. Colleges, which have already closed admissions in HS courses, are also to continue classes in the next/ensuing academic session, it added.

Principal of Jorhat College (amalgamated) Pabitrapran Goswami said no other state government in the country followed a policy that went against higher education.

“The government compels us to remain crippled. We are forced to continue admissions into higher secondary at the cost of degree students. In no other state in India are degree colleges linked to higher secondary,” he added.

Goswami pointed out that college teachers would have no time to take higher secondary classes given the increased number of examinations in the semester system — six per year — besides vocational courses and other administrative work.

“In the first place, there is a dearth of exam halls in Jorhat College. On top of this, teachers have invigilation and evaluation duties — be it that of examiners, head examiners or scrutinisers. Besides, if higher education is not to suffer, seminars, research and projects must be taken up in addition to teaching and conducting examination. This, too, takes time. With all this, higher secondary classes will be a huge hodge-podge,” he said.

Jorhat College had already printed a prospectus saying there would be no admissions to Plus II this year. But it will have to retract this now.

The principal of Pandu College near Guwahati, B. Bora, told this correspondent over phone that they would have to comply with government orders but would limit the seats to 100 instead of 300 and above as in earlier years.

“If the government wants chaos at the higher education level, it cannot be helped,” Bora said, adding that with the recent passing of the bill on transfer of principals of provincialised colleges they had no option but to comply.

Sivasagar College principal P. Kotoky said they would not admit students in Plus II despite the circular “as there was no demand”. He, however, added that a decision was yet to be taken and it would be difficult to satisfy both the UGC and the government at the same time.