No computer, no electricity, no fax machine but a degree college having 4,200 students on roll imparts teaching in a leftwing extremist-hit village Sarma under Chhaterpur block/police station in Palamu.
The secretary Satydaeo Prasad Agarwal of governing body of this college named Gulab Chand Prasad Agarwal degree college said this three-year-old college has seen challenges of extraordinary kind and with little and limited facility it is imparting teaching upto Honours level to 4,200 on roll students out of which 1,800 students are girls.
Agarwal, who is a renowned architect and has offices in Ranchi and Delhi said, “It is his dream to have a fleet of colleges in area like Sarma where higher education is still a pipe dream.” The architect wants to build future of educated girls and boys but he said, “Extremism in and around disheartened and discouraged us many times during its construction, but locals co operation and blessings of god this institution of higher education is here in double-storey building.”
As there is no electricity supply to this college, the staff manages light problem with Petro Max! Petro Max is an outdated source of man managed light but here in this college it is used when ever darkness comes in.
Vice Chancellor of Nilamber Pitamber university A N Ojha and Proctor Basant Kumar Gupta during the September 16 late afternoon inspection of this naxal ridden village situated degree college asked the secretary to get solar panels and solar lamps for light in this college.
Ojha told The Pioneer, “It is time now to go for solar light than to get depended upon petro max.”
The VC also said he took strong note that important papers/documents of this college are taken out for xeroxing outside since the college has no fax machine since it has no basic telephone connection and power back up. VC said, “I have asked secretary to have fax machine along with basic telephone line too.”
Although this degree college is situated in a remote area students come from Bihar State said Agarwal. He said this is because there is no degree college some 23 kms away from in Harihurganj block which is on the border of Bihar and even upto another 24 kms, there is no degree college and this 24 kms include parts of Bihar State too.
VC Ojha said, “I admire the grit and determination of this architect Agarwal, the secretary of this college, who is 70 plus but has bubbling energy for the cause of education.”