It was hoped that according Central university status to Garhwal University would bring about the required improvements in its campus in Tehri district. However, the Garhwal Central University, Swami Ram Tirtha (SRT) campus, Badshahithaul has continued to face various problems including the protracted shortage of teaching staff and inadequate infrastructure. It is now being hoped that the meeting of the university vice chancellor and teachers-employees slated for Friday will enable the redress of at least some of the problems being faced here.
It should be mentioned here that the State Government has continued to claim that various measures have been taken and more are planned to improve the quality of higher education. However, the ground reality in many parts of the State contradicts such claims of the Government. When central university status was awarded to the Garhwal university in 2009, the youth in this region were expecting that the long standing problems being faced in the university’s Badshahithaul campus for many years would be resolved. However, about seven years after the central university status was granted, most of the problems affecting the central university’s Badshahithaul campus have not been resolved. The shortage of teaching staff is the major problem being faced in the SRT campus. The university employs part time teachers for various subjects every year at the start of the academic session. Surprisingly, the university’s SRT campus does not even have its own sports ground. As a result the sporting talents of many a youth are not being nurtured here. Another issue is that the promotions of teachers and non-teaching staff have not taken place yet.
The laboratories on campus are being affected by the lack of adequate space. Apart from this, though there are said to be about 1.5 lakh books in the library on campus, none of the academic divisions have their own library. Due to this, it has become nearly impossible to keep more books in the campus library. This could prove problematic considering that the department plans to purchase books worth about ` 42 lakh. On Friday, the Garhwal Central University vice chancellor Professor Jl Kaul is slated to hold a meeting regarding problems faced by students and teachers after he inaugurates the inter-college women’s volleyball competition.