ARFAT KHAN
Nearly six years after the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir, an alarming paradox defines its higher education landscape where nearly 45 government degree colleges continue to function without regular principals. This prevailing situation has reduced many GDCs to administrative limbo, eroding academic discipline with deflated faculty. Worst victim of this man made crisis are students. The Higher Education Department’s failure to prioritize academic leadership raises serious questions about governance in the UT where infrastructure projects and policy announcements are highlighted with pomp and show but the foundational issue of leadership remains neglected. Those holding batton of HED need to understand that without selection based principals, even the best-funded institutions risk institutional decay.
As a matter of fact what should have been a routine administrative exercise has instead become a glaring symbol of official apathy. Now, a days, list of retiring employees is being announced well in advance then it is really disheartening to see that HED have no plans in sight to fill visible vacancy of Principals. Babus sitting in the corridors of power must realize that Principals are not ceremonial figureheads. In fact, they are the academic, administrative and moral anchors of educational institutions. Sadly, this crucial role in J&K’s GDCs has been diluted through a system of “look-after” or in-charge arrangements that often last for years. Acting principals, lacking statutory authority and long-term security are constrained in decision-making. They hesitate to initiate reforms, enforce accountability or plan strategically, knowing that their tenure could end abruptly.
Continuance of this detrimental practice as a norm rather than exception has brutal impact on academics. In the absence of principals appointment, colleges drift without vision. The teaching faculty morale has also taken a hit. Ill advised by a coterie of few yes-men while the authorities enthusiastically prefer to pursue practice of “look after” through a bunch of Man Friday of HED who continue to entrenched at their most preferred place of postings, the senior teachers, many of whom are eligible and experienced, feel sidelined by an opaque and lethargic appointment process. This undesired practice if failed to discontinue without further delay would not only undermines professionalism but also corrodes the academic culture which is considered as most sacred to the temples of learning.
Educationists warn that the prolonged delay reflects deeper governance issues within the Higher Education Department. Despite repeated assurances from authorities that the appointment process is underway, tangible progress remains elusive. Selection panels have been constituted in the past, but appointments continue to be stuck in bureaucratic bottlenecks which has been further complicated after formation of political government which is more engrossed in tug of war with LG office over reported indifferent attitude of bureaucrats who were handpicked by former to head crucial departments.
Jammu and Kashmir UT cannot afford to treat higher education casually. At a time when the UT seeks stability, employment and social progress, leaderless GDCs play spoilsports. Immediate filling all vacant post of principals through a transparent, time-bound process is not just an administrative necessity; it is an academic emergency. More delay in this crucial task is a disservice to students, teachers and the future of J&K. The government must act decisively or risk allowing an entire generation to pay the price for bureaucratic indifference which has done more harm than good for sustaining excellence in Higher Educational Institutions in recent past.