Chandigarh, July 9
The entire Punjab is lagging behind in the field of higher education due to anti-education and anti-Punjabi language policies of the Captain and Badal governments in power in Punjab. This is because after 1996, there was no regular recruitment of professors for all subjects taught in government colleges in Punjab. Disclosing this here on Friday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the reason for the poor condition of government colleges is that the state colleges do not have professors of Punjabi language among other subjects; while Punjabi language is the official language of the state and the general public. He said that in the forthcoming session of Punjab Assembly, the issue of poor condition of higher education in the state and vacant posts of professors in Punjabi language along with other subjects would be raised by the Aam Aadmi Party.
Cheema said that the ruling parties in Punjab had not taken proper steps at the government level for the development and upliftment of higher education in the state, thus not providing affordable and sustainable higher education to the youth of Punjab. He disclosed that there were a total of 47 degree colleges in Punjab in which no regular recruitment of professors of various subjects had been done since 1996. “Even the government has 47 degree colleges, but these colleges have only 18 regular professors of Punjabi language,” he added. Cheema said that in 1990, a total of 1873 posts of professors were sanctioned in government colleges of Punjab and today, in 2021, about 1600 of these posts are now vacant and the number is increasing year by year.
The LoP said that presently only 347 regular professors were serving in Punjab out of which about 39 professors were posted on deputation in government colleges of Chandigarh administration. “By 2027, out of 347 professors, about 300 will retire,” he said. Cheema said that the condition of education and professors in the government colleges located in the rural areas of the state was even worse as there were no regular professors of the subjects taught there. Expressing grief over the deteriorating condition of Punjabi language in the state, Harpal Singh Cheema said that there were a total of 18 regular professors of Punjabi language in 47 government colleges in the state. In these colleges, however, the college does not have a single Punjabi professor, while Punjabi language is taught as a compulsory and elective subject in the colleges, he added.
Cheema alleged that higher education in Punjab was being abolished under a calculated conspiracy, which has begun to have dangerous consequences; because the government degree colleges in which the youth used to crave for admission; had now run out of students. He alleged that the SAD, BJP and the Congress governments had continuously slashed the education budget, which was leading to the demise of higher education in public sector colleges. Cheema demanded from the Punjab government to increase the budget for the development of higher education in the state and to provide regular recruitment of professors of all subjects besides providing necessary facilities, so that the enthusiasm for higher education among the youth of Punjab can be revived.
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