Shimla, April 8: Himachal Pradesh University is facing intense internal opposition after ordering the removal of various courses from its curriculum due to low student turnout. The administration has declared that any course with enrollment below 50 per cent of its sanctioned capacity will be scrapped for the upcoming academic year. Officials asserted that this shift is necessary to maintain a high standard of education and manage the university’s budget more effectively.
The university’s stance is that focusing on better-attended courses will promote a more vibrant academic environment. However, student unions have lashing out at the policy, maintaining that the administration should be strengthening these departments rather than abandoning them. They affirmed that the decline in enrollment is a direct result of the university’s failure to provide permanent infrastructure and modern laboratory facilities.
“The Vice Chancellor appears to be focused solely on the five newly established centers,” Akshay Thakur of the ABVP stated. He affirmed that while new courses are being introduced, existing ones are being sacrificed, leaving many departments without proper buildings or support.
Student representatives also cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report to support their claims of systemic neglect. Yogi Singhania of the SFI affirmed that the focus has remained stagnant on five new centers while the rest of the campus suffers from a lack of technical tools. “Over the past one year, no substantial steps have been taken to strengthen the existing departments,” Singhania declared. The student bodies have jointly requested that the university reconsider the order and instead invest in the equipment and facilities necessary to make the existing programs more attractive to prospective students.
