PUDUCHERRY: Students of Cooperative College of Education on Thursday resorted to picketing the college by locking the gates. This allegedly comes after authorities failed to turn up to address their grievances.
Students are in a state of limbo, as the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), Bengaluru withdrew recognition on grounds of non-fulfilment of norms post the notice period given by Southern Regional Committee (SRC) of NCTE elapsed.
The college was started in 2005-2006 by Pondicherry State Co-operative Union to conduct BEd degree courses with approval of NCTE and an intake of 100 students annually. It is affiliated to Pondicherry University. But from 2016-17, the UGC revised the course into two years and permitted to admit 50 students in each year. Since then the affiliation was given annually on promise of fulfilling the norms.
The college still does not have its own building and is functioning from the premises of Pondicherry State Co-operative Union building on Suffren street. There is inadequacy of space, laboratory facilities, toilets and the educational qualifications of the faculty does not fulfil NCTE criteria. The laboratories do not have equipment or reagents, said Gokul, a student. Though the students pay a fee of `50,000 per year, yet the facilities are poor. While the first year students have not been granted affiliation by Pondicherry University , the affiliation of second year students expired in May 2021, said the students . They are uncertain whether they would be able to write the examinations.
The SRC in its meeting in November 2021 observed that it has submitted the photocopy of building plan and site plan which are not approved by Competent Authority and the Non-Encumbrance Certificate does not show any name of property copy. The staff list submitted is not approved by Pondicherry University.
It is yet to identify suitable land for construction of the college building, said Swaminathan, President of Manavar Kootamaippu (Students Association). MLAs M Vaidyinathan and G Nehru have suggested the government temporarily shift the college to any school which has space till the PWD makes one of its building ready as per the norms for housing the college.
Shortly after the students met Chief minister N Rangasamy on Wednesday, he said that the government is taking steps to address the issue.