Former chief minister Shanta Kumar on Wednesday expressed concern over falling standards of education in Himachal. The 85-year-old BJP leader said that compared to its low population the education sector has expanded exponentially. “Unfortunately, instead of raising the bar, this growth has only led to falling standards,” said Shanta.
He pointed out that the state had as many as 21 private universities of which seven were in one district and three in a single panchayat. He said an ongoing investigation by CBI into the scholarship scam has revealed that there were hundreds of private educational institutes in the state functioning without affiliation.
“Students got degrees, diplomas and certificates from these institutions without ever attending a class or even writing exams,” he said. “It’s the bitter truth that youth take admissions in these institutes for lack of jobs and these institutes have become centres of extortion,” he alleged.
Recently, the HP board of school education declared the results of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for eight subjects and 90% science candidates flunked the exam, he said, adding that 87% arts candidates too failed. “The total pass percentage in eight subjects was discouraging as only 10,000 out of the total 50,000 passed the exam,” said Shanta. From this, one can deduce the poor quality of education, he added.
For this state of affairs, he blamed the previous government, which, for political gains, allowed these institutions to mushroom, he said. Even government schools and colleges were opened without adequate staff and infrastructure.
{{/usCountry}}For this state of affairs, he blamed the previous government, which, for political gains, allowed these institutions to mushroom, he said. Even government schools and colleges were opened without adequate staff and infrastructure.
{{/usCountry}}“Many colleges are functioning from school buildings and lack basic facilities,” he alleged.
He said the government’s regulatory commission, set up to keep check on private institutions, was itself in tatters.
“It seems that before institutions, this commission is needed to be regulated,” he said, urging the CM Jai Ram Thakur to take some tough decisions in this regard and strict action against institutions which flout norms. These shops in the name of educational institutions needed to be shut, he added.