Colleges within schools Premium

Haryana's rapid college growth faces challenges of inadequate infrastructure and teacher shortages, impacting students' educational quality and access.

When Himanshi, 20, finished school, her heart was set on pursuing a degree in the sciences. But her parents were hesitant to let her go to a college in Haryana’s Gohana, around 15 km from their village, Bhainswal, in Sonipat district. The commute, they felt, was a concern. Himanshi was forced to enrol in Bhainswal Kalan Government College. It offered only a BA programme.

Her classmate Ritu, 21, had hoped for a BA degree with Geography as one of her subjects, but, to her dismay, the college didn’t offer it. Her parents, too, were uncomfortable with the idea of her travelling beyond a few kilometres to study.

When they joined, Himanshi and Ritu found themselves back in a school building. The co-educational college in Bhainswal village, just about 50 km from Delhi, has been running from four rooms on the premises of the Government Senior Secondary School in the village for the past six years.

It has a total strength of 81 — 49 girls and 32 boys — and offers BA programmes in Hindi, English, History and Political Science. All students opted for a degree in History, but the college does not have a History teacher.

When Haryana was carved out of Punjab on November 1, 1966, the State had just one university and two government colleges. Now, Haryana has 38 universities, including 10 State and 24 private universities, 186 government colleges, 97 government-aided colleges, and 94 self-financing colleges. These have helped students, especially women, access education, but the lack of infrastructure and an acute teacher shortage have impacted the quality of higher education.

After the National Education Policy 2020 was unveiled, the Haryana Government, in a press release, stated that the gross enrolment of girls in higher education in the State was 32%. To meet the national goal of 50% by 2030, they aim to have a college within a 20-km radius of each home, so access is easier, especially for women.  itself caters to just around six villages.