Aided degree colleges in Lucknow struggle to fill seats as LU spreads its wings
Another principal of an aided college noted that private colleges adopt a more “flexible and liberal attitude towards students” and impose fewer restrictions on attendance, which attracts more students.
LUCKNOW City-based Vidyant Hindu PG College offers 670 seats in BA but a staggering 500 of them are lying vacant. Likewise, Karamat Girls College boasts 1,075 BA seats but 575 of them remain unoccupied. Similarly, Shashi Bhushan Degree College has 500 BA seats, yet there are no takers for 420 of them. This list goes on and on.
Among the 19 aided degree colleges affiliated with Lucknow University, several are struggling to attract students, facing substantial challenges in filling seats for regular undergraduate courses, not to mention the self-financed courses that require students to shell out more bucks.
Several factors contribute to this predicament faced by aided degree colleges in the state capital. “The state government’s decision to allow LU to grant affiliations to degree colleges in four neighbouring districts -- Hardoi, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Rae Bareli -- has dissuaded students from these districts from coming to Lucknow for their studies. They now seek admission in degree colleges affiliated with LU in their home districts, leaving many aided colleges in the state capital with vacant seats,” said Dharam Kaur, the principal of Vidyant Hindu Degree College.
Rachana Srivastav, the principal of AP Sen Girls College, pointed out that over the last decade, most boys’ colleges have become co-educational institutions, such as Jai Narain PG College, BSNV PG College, Lucknow Christian College, Shia College, Vidyant College, and others. She stressed the importance of allowing all-girls degree colleges to also become co-educational, saying, “We are still limited to providing higher education exclusively to female students, while boys’ colleges are increasingly attracting more female students.”
Huma Khawaja, the principal of Karamat Girls PG College, added, “The proliferation of self-financing institutions has also played a role. When students have colleges nearby, why would they travel all the way to study in aided degree colleges?”
Another principal of an aided college noted that private colleges adopt a more “flexible and liberal attitude towards students” and impose fewer restrictions on attendance, which attracts more students. Many principals also pointed out that the introduction of the four-year undergraduate program under the new National Education Policy 2020 has encouraged students to veer away from traditional courses like BA.
“Students are increasingly inclined towards professional or job-oriented vocational courses, where they anticipate securing a job soon after completing their undergraduate vocational programmes,” said Anjum Islam, the principal of Shashi Bhushan Degree College.
Currently, there are 556 aided and private degree colleges affiliated with LU in five districts, including 182 degree colleges in the state capital alone. A decade ago, this number was limited to about 100 colleges, with aided colleges being the most sought-after institutions for students.
“Mathematics students often prefer BTech programs over BSc degrees due to the abundant availability of engineering colleges with easily attainable admission. Another motivating factor is the improved job prospects associated with pursuing a BTech degree compared to a BSc, where job opportunities may be more limited,” said Dr Pradeep Sharma, Director of the Data Resource Cell at Shia College.
LU V-C Prof Alok Kumar Rai said, “This year, LU received 40% more students who have shown interest in taking admission to the university and its affiliated degree colleges. A total of 1.7 lakh students registered, compared to 1.45 lakh students last year. However, we cannot provide specific details about admissions to individual colleges.”
Durgesh Srivastava, the Lucknow University spokesperson, noted that those degree colleges that chose to be part of LU’s centralised admission system have been more successful in attracting students.
Vacant Classrooms:
AP Sen Girls College: 200 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 475.
Karamat College: 575 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 1075.
Vidyant Hindu Degree College: 500 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 670.
Shia PG College: 82 vacant seats in BSc Maths out of a total of 288.
BSNV: 150 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 700; 150 vacant seats in BCom out of a total of 240; 150 vacant seats in BSc Biology out of a total of 350; 220 vacant seats in BSc Physics out of a total of 350.
Khun Khun Ji Girls PG College: 180 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 385; 56 vacant seats in BCom (SF) out of a total of 60.
Shashi Bhushan: 420 vacant seats in BA out of a total of 500; 52 vacant seats in BCom (SF) out of a total of 60.
