Education has long been a contested subject in India. The number of debates surrounding the education spherical is growing up on an everyday basis. From debating about the quality of education and long pending teacher vacancy, we have moved on to other issues – issues such as long promises by the government never being realized in reality. The biggest exhibition of this can be seen in the National capital. While on the one hand the AAP government of Delhi has been making long promises such as increasing the number of seats in schools and colleges, the reality is far different. An example of this can be seen at Delhi’s GB Pant Government Engineering College.
While almost all government make false and very tall promises about its administration, AAP Government has moved a step ahead and made false castles! When the Delhi Government came up with its annual budget earlier in the month of March, it made claims of allocating the highest portion of its expenditure to Education. Other claims related to education included scaling up of the GB Pant Engineering College and increasing its intake capacity from 3,000 to 7,000. While it managed to give publicity to the Delhi Government, the students of GB Pant College aren’t impressed. The reason is simple – the condition of the college campus is deplorable and the students are lying on the floor!
Although the students have tried to bring it to the notice of the government, nothing has been done about it. The students’ demands of better facilities are falling to deaf ears. With electrical wires which can fall off at any moment and walls which lost their colour long back, the campus is in a terrible shape. Now, fed up of the government’s policy of no response, the students have taken the matter in their hands and started protesting. Since last week, the students have been sleeping in the classroom on the floors.
The institution came into being in the 2007 when it was started out of a hostel and the dorm rooms were converted into classes without any additional infrastructure. Not only this, the college also lacks state of the art washrooms and any hostel facilities. For the Delhi Government which is planning to bring Delhi at par with London in a couple of years, this is shameful. Lack of hostels has forced the students to pay high rents if they wish to live in the vicinity of the college. The other option that the students have is to live far off, save on the rent but spend hours everyday while community to the college. Neither of the situations is preferable but the government seems to be disinterested in bringing about any change in it.
The principal of the college, S Maji has assured the students a number of times that the campus would be built and they need not worry about it. But like all other promises, this too has never seen the light of the day. The alumni of the college have also joined the chorus and joined a candle march taken out by the present students.
The agitation has now grown two weeks long and there are no signs of the government or administration heeding to the demands of the students. For government that takes so much pride on its education vision, this doesn’t sit well on its credentials.
Tags: Delhi Government
Gb Pant Government Engineering College
Gb Pant College Delhi
Engineering College Delhi
