Year on, no teacher at this HP college; classes in storeroom

Tribune News Service

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, May 24

Of the 72 First Year students at the Government Degree College at Kupvi in Shimla district’s Chopal, not many are hopeful of clearing their annual examination that ended on Tuesday.

Former Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur had, in November 2021, announced that a college would be opened in this far-flung sub-division. The first batch was admitted in July 2022. Though the college has five peons and a clerk, no teacher has been appointed. “We didn’t have any regular teacher throughout the session. Barring a few bright students, most of us will fail,” says Naresh Rawat, a student.

72 students enrolled

• Kupvi college in Shimla dist’s Chopal opened in July 2022
• Five peons & a clerk appointed, but not a single teacher
• Five teachers deputed from Nerwa college, but none joined
• Nerwa principal said their college itself was short of 15 teachers

The college Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) hired two private teachers to fill in for the regular ones. “We roped in teachers for political science and economics, but it wasn’t enough. Teachers from nearby Nerwa college were supposed to join on deputation, but they didn’t,” says PTA president Kewal Ram Rawat.

Sagar Kalsaik, Nerwa college principal who is in charge of the Kupvi institute too, admitted that no teacher was sent on deputation to the newly opened college. “As 15 posts of teacher are vacant at Nerwa college itself, it wasn’t possible to send anyone to Kupvi,” he maintains.

The Kupvi college doesn’t even have a building of its own. “The classes were started in a storeroom of nearby Government Senior Secondary School, which now wants it vacated. The government must make arrangements as most of the students at the college are those who cannot afford shifting elsewhere for higher studies,” says Naresh.

While Director (Higher Education) Amarjeet Sharma could not be reached for comment despite several attempts, Joint Director Nand Lal said only the Director was authorised to speak on the matter.

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