No takers for Masters in Punjabi

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 12

To encourage students to take up Masters in Punjabi, many colleges are making desperate attempts. These come in the form of relaxation of fees, arrangement of sponsorships by NRIs, staff bearing fees of students etc. Despite this, not many are taking the bait.

The Tribune spoke to eight leading colleges of Jalandhar and found out that there are no takers for the language.

Two colleges have discontinued the course due to this reason. In other colleges, where there is a condition that if a certain amount of students are not enrolled, the course will be discontinued, students are being admitted on promises that either the staff will pay their fee or there will be a fee waiver. In one of the leading colleges of the city, most students are pursuing the course after a teacher facilitated sponsorship from an NRI.

Heads of Department (HoD) and professors of Punjabi in various colleges said there used to be a time when admissions were done based on entrance tests in Punjabi and only the brightest students made it to the course. They rued that now, they were looking for various ways to attract students. At the GNDU Regional Campus at Ladhewali, there are six students in MA-I and five in MA-II. In DAV College, Jalandhar, there are nine students in first year and 10 in MA-II. The HMV College has 11 students in the first year and seven in the second year.

In KMV College, 10 students had taken admission, out of which one left and in the second year, three students left leaving the strength at 10. Colleges like the BD Arya College and the SD College in the city no longer have MA in Punjabi.