The department of higher education has initiated an exercise to create clusters of teachers in all districts of Uttar Pradesh to ensure that the number of teaching faculty in the state’s government and aided degree colleges is proportionate to the student enrolment.
Under the initiative, in institutions where the student proportion is high but the number of teachers is low, faculty members will be deputed from nearby colleges—based on requirements—to take classes.
BL Sharma, director of higher education, said, “We will create a cluster of teachers within each district. The objective is to ensure the optimal utilisation of our teaching faculty. If a situation arises where one institution has fewer students but a surplus of teachers while another has fewer teachers but a high student enrolment, teachers will be asked to travel to nearby colleges to take classes.”
Primary reason for the decline in student enrolment in the state’s higher education and technical institutions is the continued reliance on traditional academic courses. Now with changing times, these institutions can effectively attract students only by offering professional courses, an official said.
“Currently, the majority of government colleges primarily offer only BA, BSc and BCom programmes. This is one of the key reasons why students are no longer drawn to these institutions,” said Lucknow University vice chancellor Prof JP Saini.
He said that today’s students are gravitating towards professional courses—such as BBA, BCA and BTech—with the specific aim of securing direct employment immediately upon completion. We must also place a strong emphasis on skill development, an official said.
To ensure that the state’s youth have access to quality higher education within their own region, the private sector was encouraged and provided with various incentives. However, the rapidly expanding network of private colleges and universities now poses a significant challenge to government-run institutions.
The number of private universities in the state has risen to 53, while the number of private colleges has exceeded 7,520. In stark contrast, the state currently has only 24 government universities and 216 government colleges.
Furthermore, 70 of these government colleges have been established only recently. This disparity is precisely why these institutions are currently facing a major crisis regarding student enrolment.
A comprehensive campaign will soon be launched to boost student enrolment in these colleges. An extensive action plan is currently being formulated to increase student admissions for the upcoming academic session.
The department has begun cracking down on colleges and teachers while simultaneously working on formulating a new strategic plan.
The standard of education in the state’s government and aided colleges is set to be further enhanced. For this, utilisation of e-content within these colleges will also be significantly increased. Most colleges are already equipped with smart classrooms. Consequently, a maximum amount of relevant e-content will be made available to them.
Dr BL Sharma, director of higher education, said, “We currently have a repository of 89,000 e-content modules available. We will encourage colleges to make effective use of these resources. Students will thus be able to utilise their free time to study using this material as well.” To facilitate this, there are also plans to record and produce video lectures by teachers in a studio setting.
Dr Sharma said the state’s government and aided colleges are already equipped with superior infrastructure and amenities, including smart classrooms, state-of-the-art laboratories, gymnasiums and more.
“Moreover, the fee structure in these institutions is relatively lower compared to other options. In light of this situation, we intend to attract students by intensifying our outreach efforts and increasing the number of teaching staff. We will also strive to improve the administrative and infrastructural arrangements within colleges by conducting surprise inspections,” he added.
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