HYDERABAD: College libraries may have been the knowledge hubs and the major source of learning for students in the past, but now they are lying in pathetic condition with lack of proper maintenance in many of the higher educational institutions in Telangana.
Except in very few state universities like Osmania University and JNTU Hyderabad and Central universities in the state like University of Hyderabad (UoH) and English and the Foreign Languages University (EFLU) it is hard to find a well maintained library in higher education institutes in Telangana.
The guidelines of the University Grant Commission (UGC) and All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) make it mandatory for all the recognised universities and major colleges across the country to have well-equipped libraries with the latest collection of academic books, journals and research papers.
In fact the latest guidelines of UGC have also directed the institutes to establish an e-library with a collection of e-books and subscription to online book stores in various fields like science, medicine and literature. But most of the colleges in the state still don’t seem to come any closer to the UGC standards in maintenance of college libraries. E-libraries are still an alien thing in most of the institutes.
According to an official at the Directorate of Collegiate Education, Telangana, only 60 of total 119 government degree colleges in the state have proper libraries. But they too have only old books. Earlier, the libraries in government colleges would provide textbooks such as Telugu Academy books and other reference books for students. After modifications in the syllabus in the recent past, the updated books are not available in the colleges. Now the number students borrowing books from college libraries have also reduced.
‘’I find them outdated and not useful to prepare for competitive exams. So many of us prefer to buy books from private shops,” Sathish Nayak, a post-graduate student from Girraj Government College, Nizamabad, said.