Regular classes fail to start in Ludhiana colleges

Lovleen Bains

Sahnewal, August 11

Regular teaching, which was to commence from today as per the guidelines issued by Panjab University, could not be initiated in most of the colleges. Reason: Colleges were given just two days to admit the students to the next class and had to begin teaching work from the third day itself.

Avinash Kaur, officiating principal of Gobind National College, Narangwal, said “We had a break from August 1-8. It was on August 9 that regular admissions for ongoing classes began. The students had no idea of the admission dates and the colleges had a tough time informing them. The speed of admissions in all educational institutions is slow. The students are either being informed telephonically or through Whatsapp groups to get admitted as early as possible. But it is practically impossible to begin teaching from the third day of admissions. In rural colleges like ours, it is all the more difficult to get in touch with students sitting in the rural exterior.”

Kuldeep Kaur Dhaliwal, principal of Mata Ganga Khalsa College, Kottan, shared, “The university has given us just two days to admit regular students to the next class. This is too short a time. Even if we keep informing students each day, they will take another week or so to come and get admitted and the regular classes may commence in an effective way in no case before a week’s time. We are somehow trying to tie up with the students to appraise them of the admission dates and commencement of their classes. Contacting each and every student personally takes time. In any case, more time is required to admit students otherwise there is no fun in beginning classes. The teaching days of the semester can be fulfilled easily since the exams would be held in December.”

“The teachers too are in a fix. The ones who are admitted, though less in number, are enquiring about the commencement of classes. But if the teachers begin teaching today, those admitted afterwards shall be at a loss or the teacher would have to keep repeating the same thing again and again to accommodate the newcomers. The university should have given at least a week’s time to the colleges to admit students and begin with teaching,” opined a college professor.

Sunita of Sahnewal said “I have to take admission in BA final year. Yesterday, I got a call for admission from my college. I was also informed that my classes shall begin from August 11. I did not know that admissions and classes would begin almost at the same time. I need at least a week to arrange the fee since my family is going through a severe financial crisis. I am worried that I will have to miss my classes till I am admitted. It being the final year, each and every day of study counts”.