Dharamsala: Staff shortage hobbles Haripur college, locals heap blame on Education Dept

Raghav Guleria

Dharamsala, March 27

Established in 2007, Chander Dhar Guleri Government Degree College at Haripur in Kangra district is struggling with staff shortage, but the Education Department, it seems, is in a deep slumber.

Though subjects in humanities, social sciences, business finance, commerce, science and mathematics have been introduced in the college, a majority of the sanctioned posts are lying vacant.

‘TEACHERS AWAITED’

• College principal Dr Ashwani Prashar told The Tribune that he had taken up the matter of the staff shortage at various levels and was waiting for teachers.
• “Once the staff shortage is overcome, enrolment will automatically go up,” he added.

It has become a challenge for the people at the helm to face the student fraternity, who have every right to have a proper faculty. — A COLLEGE-GOER’S PARENT

The strength of the college has come down drastically to 130 from 500 students it had a few years ago. Residents of Haripur say in spite of repeated representations, nobody has come to address the issue.

Haripur falls in the Dehra Assembly constituency and is a historic village, which was once the capital of the erstwhile Guler state. The place is known world over for its monuments and exceptional contribution in the field of art, culture and literature.

Of the 45 sanctioned posts of teaching and non-teaching staff, only 21 are filled at present. Only 10 teachers, including the college principal, are running the show, while 15 posts of teachers are vacant. “It is astonishing that there is no one to take care of even the core subjects of Hindi and English,” said Atul Mahajan, president of Haripur Vyapar Mandal.

Sources reveal that contrary to this, there is a surplus staff in the English department at the Government B.Ed College, Dharamsala.

Due to the lack of teachers for subjects like English, Hindi, political science and geography, students have no choice but to leave the college. “The college has a teacher for psychology, a subject that has no student. This speaks volumes for the non-serious attitude of the Education Department,” said a resident of Haripur.

The staff shortage has led to a decline in the number of admissions this year. “It has become a challenge for the people at the helm to face the student fraternity who have every right to have a proper faculty,” says another person whose children are studying in the Haripur college.

College principal Dr Ashwani Prashar told The Tribune that he had taken up the matter of the staff shortage at various levels and was waiting for teachers. “Once the staff shortage is overcome, enrolment will automatically go up,” he added.

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