Decision on Ladakh varsity soon: Malik

Jammu, November 15

Following the protests by Ladakhi students seeking a separate university in the region, the state government is now considering their demand.

“The issue (setting up of a separate university in Ladakh) is under serious consideration of the government and a decision on it will be taken soon,” Governor Satya Pal Malik said here on Thursday. The issue had snowballed into a major controversy as the Ladakhi students had recently called for a shutdown, while those studying in Jammu had also hit the roads demanding immediate establishment of a full-fledged university in the region. Last week, The Tribune had highlighted the “grave injustice” with the Ladakh region in terms of establishing universities. The Jammu region, which has just 25.93 per cent of the geographical area of J&K, has six full-fledged universities, an IIT and an IIM, while the Kashmir valley, having just 16 per cent of the geographical area of the state, has five universities and a National Institute of Technology (NIT).

On the other hand, Ladakh possesses nearly 58 per cent of the total geographical area of J&K and a population of around 2.80 lakh, but it still doesn’t have even a single full-fledged university.

Moreover, the five degree colleges in Ladakh are affiliated to the University of Kashmir, which has set up two off-site campuses in Kargil and Leh. Nearly 30,000 Ladakhi students are forced to take admissions outside the region for higher studies. The enrolment in these colleges has also come down drastically due to delay in the conduct of exams and declaration of results. Consequently, students are forced to take admissions in universities outside Ladakh, particularly in Chandigarh, Delhi or Jammu. — TNS