Out to empower girls, Dehra college lacks own building
Raghav Guleria
Dharamsala, April 5
Government College at Dehra in Kangra district came into existence in the year 2017 and started functioning the same year.
Offering only two courses — BA and BCom — the college is presently housed in the building of GSSS (boys) at Dehra. In all, 149 students are pursuing their studies at the college, where the strength of girl students is 127.
This works out to be 85 per cent of the total enrolment. The college, undoubtedly, is imparting education to women. Total sanctioned posts of teachers is seven; out of these, six are currently filled and one post (History) is lying vacant. In the office, the posts of superintendent, JOA (IT) and assistant librarian have been filled, but two posts of the non-teaching staff are lying vacant.
According to college Principal Ravinder Singh Gill, the college aims at the overall development of the students. He underlined the urgency of the college having a campus of its own, informing that 2.7 hectares of land had been identified for this purpose opposite the upcoming campus of the CUHP at Dehra.
The FRC case for land acquisition, according to him, is at the final stage. The principal said he was optimistic about the enrolment picking up once the college building was ready.
“A building for the college is our priority and we are working in this direction,” the principal said.
When asked as to how the strength would go up competing with the CU, he said, “This is a state-run institute and we cater to the students coming from rural backgrounds in particular.”
The college falls under the Dehra constituency, which is the oldest tehsil of Kangra district, dating back to the British times. Town resident Sunil Kumar said: “It is really sad that the government authorities are taking exceptionally long to construct a college building at such a prominent place. It shows how serious the department is for the education of the children, especially girls, who have been confined to a borrowed premises for over seven years.”
