The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Over 900 students’ future in jeopardy

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Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Over 900 students’ future in jeopardy

S. Ramesh

Govt. College of Arts and Science lacks infrastructure

College forced to rent a marriage hall to accommodate first year students
It also faces shortage of faculty members

METTUR: The official lethargy in the construction of permanent buildings and creation of various important facilities in Periyar University College of Arts and Science, a constituent college of the varsity, has put the future of over 900 students of the college in jeopardy.

The college, which was started in 2006, is functioning on the premises of the Government Higher Secondary School at Mettur and Thukkanampatti Municipal Primary School.

The academic activities in the college are severely affected as it lacks full-fledged classrooms, laboratories, learning aids and equipment. Students are forced to sit in small classrooms, which do not have facilities required for the higher education.

UG programmes

Initially, 281 students were admitted in three undergraduate programmes.

Then six new undergraduate courses including B.Sc. Computer Science and B.Sc. Geology and a postgraduate course were introduced and over 620 students were admitted in the last academic year.

Another 600 students will be enrolled on its registers during current year. The college functions in two shifts due to space constraints. The university is forced to rent a marriage hall this year to accommodate the first year students.

The college also faces shortage of faculty members. “We have just one class a day. The practical sessions are not being conducted properly. There are virtually no extra-curricular activities in the college. If this situation continues, our career prospects will be bleak”, students claim.

Higher education

A majority of the students admitted in the college hail from economically backward sections.

They have come with the hope to get quality higher education so that they can land in better jobs. But now they are forced to study in poor conditions, teachers point out.

Annoyed over the delay, students recently resorted to a dharna on the GHSS premises. The Government had identified a site for the construction of permanent buildings for the college in Mettur several months ago.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the permanent buildings in September last year. But the construction is yet to begin. The university has a proposal to construct temporary buildings in the site to conduct the classes. The proposal still remains on paper.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor M. Thangaraju said that tenders were called for the construction of permanent buildings. Steps were also being taken up to appoint more faculty members in the college, he promised.

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