When 67 B.Ed. colleges were established within a decade in the private sector in Kashmir, educationists had predicted a bright future for higher education of the state. This rare success story, however, proved to be short-lived. Starting in mid 90’s the B.Ed. sector was attracting students from states like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Uttrakhand, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and even Orissa, pumping in much needed money into the local economy. The biggest draw was a B.Ed. degree, which was recognized and availed within one year as against two years needed in other states. Soon these colleges in Kashmir started to grow in every direction and non-local students, eager to save one year, flocked to them. The state being in the grip of militancy didn’t bother them either. There were other advantages too. “In other states a student wishing to pursue B.Ed. needed a minimum of 50 percent marks in bachelors degree, but here the eligibility was just 40 percent and even less for SC/ST category,” said C L Vishen, President, Kashmir Private B.Ed. Colleges Association. “So the students who couldn’t get admission anywhere else were able to pursue the degree here.” The pleasant climate here was a bonus. The B.Ed. colleges in North India were inadequate to absorb all the students, so there were thousands of students willing to travel to Kashmir. The money game As more and more people got involved in the education sector, it turned into a business. Politics, strategies and lobbyism followed. At stake was money in hundreds of crores. There are 74 B.Ed colleges in Jammu with intake capacity of 21000 seats and 67 colleges in Kashmir Valley with intake capacity of 24000 seats. “It brings in Rs 100 crore to Kashmir economy annually,” said Vishen. “I can surely say our industry was in full bloom till 2010 and after that the rate of new admission went down.” But according to experts the figure is much higher. On an average every student spends anywhere between Rs 70,000 to 1 lakh. “A simple math would determine how much money is involved,” said an insider. “At house full level, it can even cross Rs 400 crores annually.” “The B.Ed. colleges have been running for almost two decades now. Let us take the past ten years and one can see the money runs in thousands of crores,” he said. To avoid getting caught into the tax net, most of these colleges are registered under a trust or some charitable society, which ensures college owners pocket the maximum profit. Vishen says the college owners are not the only ones who have made money. “Even universities profited a lot, our KU annually makes at least Rs 10 crores via admission fee, registration fee, sale of forms, brochures etc,” he said. Decline The situation started to change after other states saw their money flowing into Jammu and Kashmir. “They are not like us, they are fully aware of their economy,” said Vishen. “They simply opened up new B.Ed. colleges and also made it a one year course to retain the students and the money.” In some cases they unsuccessfully tried to get the degree derecognized from Jammu and Kashmir. All of this ensured less inflow of students to Kashmir. “If we have 20,000 seat capacity, we are now able to fill only 8000 seats,” lamented Vishen. However, the university officials contest the justification of seat allotment to these colleges, terming it as inflated. They want the seat numbers to be reduced to match the demand. But the opposing college authorities claim every seat can be booked if only they get their demands fulfilled from KU. “We can again go housefull if only KU allows two sessions – March session for locals and October session for outsiders,” said Vishen. “Plus make B.Ed. compulsory for teaching posts in J&K.” Impact on KU The emergence of B.Ed. colleges and the associated admission process heavily dented the image of KU. “The admission business of B.Ed. is the biggest challenge faced by KU,” said a KU official on condition of anonymity. “The university has simply lost control of the admission process and it is being hijacked by a particular lobby.” Off the record KU officials agree that some colleges have become ‘shops’ that churn out B.Ed. certificates bringing a bad name to the entire education sector. “There were touts in other states who used to sell Kashmiri B.Ed. colleges in three categories,” said a KU official who was associated with the previous investigation into the working of these B.Ed. colleges. “In first expensive category students had to simply register their name and get the degree, in the second category they had to appear in exams only and get the degree, in the third and the cheapest category, the three months attendance was necessary for getting the degree.” “It was a wholesale market where degrees were on sale costing anywhere between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh depending on the category,” he said. Surprisingly the university has no legal validity to undertake admission of B.Ed. students. “There is no act or statutes under which KU can involve itself in the admission process of B.Ed. students,” he said. The twin universities in Kashmir and Jammu were asked to take control of the admission process under a High Court order in 1997. The then Justice High Court Bilal Nazki had passed the order in one case after a woman was forced by a private B.Ed. college to deposit more money even after she gave them the prescribed money by selling her property. But as soon as the admissions authority came under KU, all hell broke loose. Right from the beginning, there were allegations of B.Ed. colleges trying to manipulate the admission process to have their say. In 2006 a student from Rajasthan blew the lid over the scandalous B. Ed. admissions going on in the KU. A subsequent inquiry unearthed a murky scam, which later cost the job of the then Public Relations Officer. The scam was worth crores. The inquiry report at that time had termed the B.Ed. colleges as the “face of corruption.” B Ed colleges affiliated with the University of Kashmir are the worst examples of corruption and manipulation, the report read, questioning the process of the affiliation of new colleges, terming them as not availed by merit, “but by some mysterious help from certain elements.” But the authorities couldn’t prosecute the management of any B.Ed. college and things went on as usual. Exploitation The B.Ed. Colleges Association believes they have been providing employment to thousands of people directly and indirectly. “Each of our college provides at least 40 jobs directly and many more indirectly,” claims Vishen. “We absorbed hundreds of teachers at respectable salaries and this sector helped create a huge state owned infrastructure too.” But allegations have been rife against these colleges over the exploitation of its staff. “Underpaying is rampant at these colleges,” said a KU official. “We get so many complaints wherein candidates have been forced to sign on a receipt of higher payment, but in reality they get a meager amount.” Joint Director (P&S), Higher Education Department, J&K, Mohammad Syeed Peer also agreed that there are staff problems at these colleges. “Yes they have a problem. They usually don’t keep staff on a long term basis, they change them yearly, which is against the rule,” said Peer. Some colleges used to employ retired officials at low rates to avoid paying a mandatory salary to the unemployed youth. The B.Ed. colleges often manage to get the extension in the submission of examination forms by many months. “Almost every year they force the university to extend the deadline for submission of forms,” said an official. “In such a scenario, only few months are left before final examination. What will a student learn in those few months?” Competition In this age of competition, the B.Ed. colleges thrive by adopting a unique modus operandi to scuttle the competition. The B.Ed. colleges lobbied hard to prevent the registration of any new colleges. The college owners are never shy of admitting their opposition. “It is becoming difficult for us to get the required number of candidates and new colleges would further complicate the problems,” said Vishen. “So we asked government to ban the registration of new colleges.” Local businessmen, entrepreneurs and the unemployed youth who wanted to open their own B.Ed. colleges term it as foul play. “First they managed to make the entry of new B.Ed. colleges impossible by getting new rules for infrastructure imposed, but when few entrepreneurs still managed to fulfill the criteria, they simply got it banned,” said Andleeb, who has been waiting to get registration for starting a B.Ed. college for almost 8 years. “What if according to their logic, the old shopkeepers in Lal Chowk demand that no new shops be allowed, because it will affect their business,” she further added. “If their logic becomes norm, then it will destroy entire business sector in Kashmir.” The situation is no different in Jammu as the Forum of Recognized Colleges (FORCE), which represents Private B.Ed. colleges there, also lobbies hard to prevent registration of new colleges. Many Kashmiri entrepreneurs, some of whom have degrees from outside, have been asking the government to open the field for them. “Competition will automatically increase the quality of education and service,” says Andleeb. “Let it be the survival of the fittest. If we provide good service, then we will flourish, otherwise not,” she said. According to the Directorate of Higher Education there are at least 50 cases waiting for the registration of new B.Ed. colleges. “We were getting lot of complaints about the conduct of these colleges, so we put a moratorium on the registration of new colleges,” said Peer. Peer said that the department has done a survey and is forming new rules. “The affiliation of new colleges would be started soon under strict monitoring,” said Peer. “There are number of districts where no B.Ed. colleges are present and we would be preferably allow more colleges in those uncovered districts.” Given the blanket ban, the value of already existing B.Ed. colleges has increased. According to unofficial estimates, the license of a B.Ed. college easily fetches Rs 1.5 crores in the grey market. Reform attempts The university once attempted to streamline the working of these colleges, but it proved to be a difficult task. In 2012-13, KU authorities tried hard to make these colleges fall in line. There were surprise inspections, curtailment in seats for non-abeyance of rules and other punitive measures. In 2012-13, the then Dean Colleges Development Council, KU acted tough on them. “He strictly implemented the rules and one could see the difference it created,” said an official, who used to take part in surprise inspection of private B.Ed colleges. “Genuine students started to appear in the colleges.” The colleges who got their seats curtailed used to approach the who-is-who of the state. From Governors office to politicians, everyone was approached. In one case a famous college in South Kashmir approached the top army commander in Kashmir at that time, after his seats were curtailed on account of absentees. The army commander went on to write a recommendation letter to KU officials. The letter, however, was trashed. It remains to be seen whether the current administration at KU would follow such a strict implementation of rules. Solution The best solution according to the KU officials is the delinking of admission process from KU and handing it over to Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE). “There is a provision for it and the cabinet should approve the decision of allowing BOPEE to conduct entrance test for B.Ed. exams,” said a top official at KU. “This will relieve KU of a huge burden.” There is a growing voice among the academia that the KU should limit its role to only affiliate the colleges and in turn check their working. “This B.Ed. involvement has polluted our academia and our professors are being corrupted, which is a nightmare for any university, and if this delinking is not done at the earliest, it will spell doom for the KU,” said a KU insider. Experts say that BOPEE conducts different entrance tests annually for Lakhs of students and they can easily do the same for B.Ed. “BOPEE can complete the entire process within 20 days as opposite to KU where it tends to be a year-long affair,” said a KU official. The education scenario in Kashmir is in desperate needs of reforms. Every year around 10,000 students migrate to different states of India for pursuing various professional and other degrees. According to a rough estimate, the annual flight of capital on account of this migration is around Rs 500 crore. “We need to have a holistic approach and devise a concrete policy for the developing the education sector,” said Shakil Qallander, former chairman of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries. “It will not only prevent the flight of capital but would also improve and develop quality education institutes including these infamous B. Ed. colleges. Then only Kashmir can become an educational hub
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 03:23:12 +0000