HYDERABAD: Normalcy might have returned in Kashmir as the government claims but definitely not in the colleges run there by the Hyderabad-based Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU).
Around 200 to 250 students of the university pursuing B.Ed, M.Ed, BA and MA courses at colleges run by MANUU in Kashmir are set to lose one academic year, as the attendance continues to remain low in the colleges due to paralysed public transport, even after close to a month has passed since the government reopened higher education institutions on October 9, post-wearing down of the Article 370.
In fact, MANUU Vice-Chancellor, Dr Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz said that the university will not even conduct admissions for its colleges in Kashmir next year.
Dr Parvaiz said that although the teachers are turning up at the colleges, the students, many of whom are from poor backgrounds and rely on public transport for commutation, are not turning up for classes. The colleges already lost close to two months of academic year from August 5 to October 8.
However, when contacted, a teacher working at one of the colleges run by MANUU in Kashmir told Express over phone, “This is not the first time this is happening to us. In 2008, and in 2016 as well, we had lost lot of time due to the then prevailing conditions in Kashmir. We will try and finish the syllabus in time so the students are not affected.”