M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Aug 25: The Model Degree College worth over Rs 12.47 crore at Sonepurwa in Garhwa district is ready to be taken over by the Nilamber Pitamber University.
On Wednesday, two officers Dr A K Pandey and Dr K C Jha along with two assistants Nawneet and Sachin reached this college from Daltonganj and took stock of the building, campus and other facilities as a forerunner to the take-over of this college.
This model degree college is a showpiece to the Nilamber Pitamber University with its scenic background and state-of-the-art construction, said many teachers and students in Garhwa on phone to this correspondent.
The Higher Education, Technical and Skill Development Department (acronymed as HRD here) of the Jharkhand government has not sanctioned any post of teachers in three very sought-after subjects Economics, Psychology and Home Science.
Lagatar24.com has a notification of the state HRD (letter number 27, dated 9.01.18) mentioning sanctioning of posts of the principal and one teacher each in subjects like Hindi, English, History, Political Science and Geography. Sanctioning of the posts of teachers in subjects like Economics, Psychology and Home Science is conspicuously missing.
The state HRD has sanctioned non-teaching posts for this model degree college at Sonepurwa in Garhwa.
This correspondent spoke to one of the two officials Dr A K Pandey late in the evening of Wednesday.
“We do not know why the state government has not sanctioned the posts of the teachers in subjects like Economics, Psychology and Home Science,” he said.
This college also has a major problem with electrification. As this college comes up at the foothill of a hillock, rural electrification like the erection of the electricity poles, stretching of overhead wires, sitting up of the transformer etc is yet to be done.
Dr A K Pandey said this college has internal fittings for the electricity but with the non-availability of the electricity around, the internal electrical installation will not be energised.
Sources said the Nilamber Pitamber University has to take up this issue with the Garhwa district administration as well as with the local electricity department officials for providing all their electricity infrastructures there at this part of Sonepurwa where this college is situated.
“A 500-meter stretch of the approach road to this college is in utter bad condition where it is a risk of falling for everyone,” said Dr A K Pandey.
College’s Contractor Arun Kumar Singh alias Munna Singh said that this college has 3 smart classrooms, a big study hall, an open area theatre, toilets for boys, girls and disabled students, common rooms for boys and girls etc. There is a ramp for the disabled students which will enable them to reach classrooms with the help of tricycles up to the top floor as this college is G+2.
Fire fighting measures are also in place with as many as 28 fire extinguishers. There is a water harvesting structure also but no solar panel.
“There was no provision for the solar panel in the estimate of this college and had it been there we could have installed the solar panel here,” the contractor said.
Sources said the original estimate for this college was first pegged at Rs 9.18 crore in the year 2019.
However, the Project Approval Board (PAB) of Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) further modified the estimate and raised the budget to over Rs 12.47 crore from Rs 9.18 crore.
Modalities to start admission and teaching in this model degree college at Sonepurwa in Garhwa district from this session 2022-23 are being discussed at the university.
However, the issue of teachers even in the subjects sanctioned here is difficult to be sorted out.
