Teachers, students protest shifting of Muktsar centre

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, November 22

Teachers as well students of the Panjab University Regional Centre here are up in arms against the move of the state government and university authorities to shift it from Muktsar town to neighbouring Kauni village in Gidderbaha subdivision.

There is a PURural Centre at Kauni village, which has so far failed to serve its purpose. The centre is running with most of the seats lying vacant. Now, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal wants to make it fully functional and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh ‘Raja Warring’ has stressed on shifting the Muktsar centre to Kauni village in his constituency.

Irate teachers and students of the Muktsar centre sent memorandums to the university authorities, warning that they would lodge a stir if any such decision was taken. Meanwhile, a team of the university is now scheduled to come to Muktsar on November 27 to assess the situation. The Muktsar centre has been doing well since its inception in 1998. It has even produced some judges, bureaucrats and gold medalists.

The centre at Kauni village, which was inaugurated in 2010 by Manpreet, has so far proved to be a white elephant for the authorities as not even a single student has taken admission in the BBA and PGDCA courses here till date. The students say unfriendly location and lack of transportation are the reasons behind its failure.

PS Dhingra, Director, PU Regional Centre, Muktsar, said, “If the authorities want to make the Kauni village centre successful, it must offer skill development and vocational courses. This is not a right step to shift a successfully running centre to a village.”

He added, “The Muktsar centre had last year got five-acres along the Government College and got a boundary wall constructed. Presently it is being run from a rented building of a gurdwara, which has been declared unsafe. The authorities should either repair the building or release funds for the construction of the new building, which is the right step. Students from neighbouring districts are unwilling to be shifted to Kauni village.”

Prof RD Bansal, a PU Syndicate member, said, “The centre at Muktsar is already getting indifferent treatment and move to shift it is illogical.”