An Emerging Leading Institution surrounding by many problems
Professor Khalid Akbar;
Boys Degree College, Trarkhel is situated in the heart of the land of Chaar Chinnar in district Sudnhoti, Poonch division which is famous for its natural scenic beauty. The historical significance of Trarkhel is paramount regarding the freedom movement of Jammu Kashmir in 1947, and also in post political and social mass movements for seeking the basic rights for citizens. Like other areas of the state called Azad Jumu Kashmir, Trarkhel was also kept deprived of basic educational facilities in the reign of Dogra Dynasty. There was only one primary school in that autocratic rule. Following the liberation of Azad Kashmir, the local leadership of this region strived hard for the provision of better educational facilities for the people of this area. It goes without saying that the great stalwart of this city – a renowned politician and statesman late khan Bhadr khan (KB Khan) played the key role in establishing better educational facilities for the people of Trarkhel and vicinity. He was instrumental in establishing first ever high school in Trarkhel which was inaugurated by then president, KH. khurshid Khan. Later on, at the behest of Khan Sab the high school Trarkhel was upgraded to inter college in 1975 to meet the growing needs and demands of the people of this city and surroundings. Right from its inception, this august institution has been playing its vital role to cater for better quality education. It has turned out many historical personalities who have played their vital role in the progress and development of the society. It has produced scores of engineers, professors, academicians, businessman and political leaders who are playing their remarkable roles in all walks of life. In order to give more and better access to a greater number of students and cater for their needs at their door step, demand of Degree College was the general outcry of the time. Therefore, the college was upgraded as Boys Degree College in 2012 and a magnificent building was constructed which was inaugurated by then speaker of AJK Assembly, Sardar Ghulam Sadiq Khan. Besides running degree classes, the college has initiated BS program in four disciplines to keep itself abreast of customary global educational standards. One of the marked achievements of Boys Degree College Trarkhel is the initiation of Model Science Classes in 2018 at intermediate level to tap the talent for nurturing better education. The results of first batch speak volumes of extraordinary efforts put by the staff and administration. One student got first position in the whole district succeeded by 12 A+ and seven: 7, A grades with overall cent percent results in all sections including science and humanities. Similarly, its current GPA is 2.83 which is remarkable in AJK. It has been investigated by the undersigned that this ever new surge of BDC and its brilliant performance is because of four professors of this said college. These worthy professors happened to get their children admitted on the exhortation of the head of the college which caused great motivation for other people to opt for this institution for their promising offspring. It implies a fundamental fact and a baseline that if teachers at all level prefer to have their kids in public education sector, performance of public institutions would automatically improve. The other cause investigated was the collective team work under the dynamic leadership of sitting principal of this college. The existing staff of this college- though overburdened- is the best in the town mostly M.Phil. in natural and social sciences with one fellow, Dr. Mahzar PhD in physics and author of twelve research papers in international Journals. The positive impact of this excellence is that the people in the area have new found trust and sense of solace while opting for this auspicious institution. In the model classes all admissions are granted to girls and boys on merit basis. There are different sections for boys and girls in place. It has been found that this college is deficient in many basic requirements which have become bottlenecks in its smooth functioning. There is lack of staff especially at ADA, ADS and BS levels that is why it could offer admission to the students in limited combinations. Presently, BDC is running BS classes in four disciplines on the directives of Higher Education, mostly with hired staff. To the utter dismay, it was constrained to close admission to the further students in this academic year- despite growing interest of masses- because of scarcity of funds and staff. The initiation of BS classes testifies that this college is post Graduate Boys College though officially it is Degree College. The condition of science labs and library is deplorable and pathetic. The equipment in the labs does meet the needs of fsc. Therefore, there is a dire need of the hour to upgrade the science labs urgently, to the minimum, at par with other main degree/post graduate colleges of district level. The electric system is poorly installed which deters the smooth flow of power in computer lab and else. The hostel of the college has poor drainage and sewerage system which needs desperately to be overhauled and fixed. For hundreds of students, there is not a single college bus or adequate means of public transport. This state of affairs makes the students hard to reach college from far flung places. Sadly, Trarkhel has notoriously poor and pitiable public transport structure in AJK. Therefore, one coach preferably 40 seaters is the unavoidable need and long standing demand of the college to meet the minimum requirement of the students. The ground of the college is in dilapidated condition. To make it playable, certain ground work is required especially wall terracing and drainage of rain water. It is worthwhile to note that the sitting principal of this college Sardar Shaukat Hussain has strived hard successfully to transform this college in terms of infrastructure and quality education. By employing his personal ties, he was instrumental in building mosque, water facility and so on through the assistance of philanthropists. He is very proactive, pragmatic and iron willed- always all out to give more than required by him. However, much is needed on the part of the people who are at the helm of affairs to address these chronic and unavoidable issues at the earliest. Similarly, philanthropist could also play some role to mitigate these dire circumstances. If these aforesaid problems are attended and resolved by providing needful by the higher education commission and the powerful people at the helms, this college could emerge as top most institution and real center of learning and excellence in public sector. -The writer is a Assistant Professor, free-lance columnist.
