SRINAGAR: Students of Government Women’s Degree College, Sopore are facing an acute shortage of teachers, a crisis which has brought their academic progress to a standstill.
Government Degree College for Women Sopore
Out of the required 33 positions that the college requires, only 11 permanent faculty members are present. The college has not renewed contracts for or hired new contractual lecturers to make up for the staffing needs.
The College’s Arts faculty has less than one-fourth of the required teaching staff.
Despite several years of pleas from students and college administration alike, the issue is long impending.
The students had also staged a protest in the college premises on Monday last complaining about understaffing, mostly in the arts faculty of the college. The students took to social media to state their concerns regarding their studies having to suffer due to a lack of faculty.
“The matter has been taken up with the Director of Colleges and the Principal Secretary as well,” Principal GWDC, Sopore, Bashir Ahmad Parray said, confirming the lack of adequate staff. They have verbally assured swift action in the matter. We are awaiting further progress.”
However, the students from the college alleged oversight of their concerns from the administration. “We have not studied even a single word since February 15 due to a lack of staff. Our careers are getting ruined,” a student from BA History, second semester said. “Certain departments are being handled by single personnel. The arts faculty is the one which is suffering the most due to this shortage of teachers.”
“The college has only one English teacher who teaches both the faculties (Arts and Science) throughout all semesters. There is no teacher for history, economics, political science, and such major subjects. We used to have contractual lecturers but the administration hasn’t even hired them for the current session,” the student added.
“We talked to our Principal but he said there wasn’t much he could do about the matter as it is out of his hands to hire the staff. He is trying though,” another student, enrolled in BSc second semester, said. “We wanted to use social media to voice our concerns but nothing came out of it as well.”
Director of Colleges, Yasmeen Ashai also admitted the problem. “An advertisement has been issued regarding the hiring of contractual staff. We have sent a number of contractual teachers to the said college to teach minor subjects and the application evaluation process for the posts of major subjects is underway,” Ms Ashai said. “Due to the applications being in bulk, the hiring process is taking time but the process is already underway.”
However, students insist that no teaching faculty has been hired for the current session. “As per our knowledge, the last permanent teacher hired was way back in 2016. Contractual staff is a come-and-go trend but even they haven’t been hired for the current session,” a group of students said.
Besides, the students also voiced their concerns regarding transport and college infrastructural issues. “Our College is situated at an off-road location. We have to travel from far-flung areas and then walk long distances from the bus stand to reach the college,” one student said. “The two buses provided by the government aren’t functional. There are no drivers.”
The college buildings and other infrastructure are in a near-dilapidated state, the students alleged. “We have repeatedly taken up this matter with the principal but to no regard. Maybe the issue lies in this being a college for women,” one student commented.
DC Baramulla Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar had taken note of the matter regarding the college being understaffed and in a notice, directed the Principal Government Women’s Degree College Sopore to resolve the matter immediately. She had also ordered the principal to communicate the progress to her office. It was not immediately known if the college management has responded to the order or sought her help in addressing the issues.
Established in 2005, the college operated from the premises of Government Boys Degree College, Sopore till 2010, when it got its own building. Currently, it has around 1100 students on its rolls.
The Shopian Sqay Association players have won medals in two championships, 14 gold and four silver medals at South Asian Sqay Championship and Tri-National International Championship. The 7th South Asian Sqay Championship and tri-nation international 2023 was held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The players include Khatija Tul Kubra, Shahzadi Lariba, Tawqeer Ashraf, Shahzaib Shakeel, Junaid Shafi and Faizan Ayoub Khan have won gold medals under different categories and Faizan Gulzar and Durdana Yousuf won the silver medal in the championship. In the Tri-National international championship 2023, Tahneet Mushtaq, Anish Zahoor, Zaid Bin Hassan, Mohd Huzaif, Shafeeq Ah Malik, Owais Mushtaq, Danish Aijaz and Haamid Rashid won gold while Umer Masood and Khansa Bashir have won silver medals.
Our Little Squay Champion Abid Aijaz from Ganderbal after returning from 7th South Asian Squay champinship Katmandu Nepal with a silver medal. pic.twitter.com/7sc8rzkWBo
The Jammu and Kashmir government enhanced the wages of daily engaged Daily Rated Workers, including Casual Labourers from Rs 300 per day to Rs 311 with effect from October 2022.
LADAKH
Retired Brigadier Dr BD Sharma took over as Ladakh LG on February 19, 2023. This photograph was taken after clicked after he was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Jammu and High Court Mr Justice N Kotiswar Singh.
Brigadier (Dr) B D Mishra (Retired) has taken oath as the new Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh. He became the second LG of the Himalayan region by replacing R K Mathur, who held the office since 2019 when Ladakh became the union territory. The 83-year-old Mishra is a former brigadier of the Indian Army and the former Commander of the Counter Hijack Force of the National Security Guard (NSG), popularly known as the Black Cat Commandos. His appointment came on the heels of a stalemate in Ladakh where the Kargil Democratic Alliance and Leh Apex Body have been asking for statehood to the region along with a legislature, schedule-VI safeguards, and an additional parliament seat.
The government has started the Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir with Rs 463 crore earmarked for creating 2000 Kissan Khidmat Ghars, which will serve as a One Stop Centre for extending farmer-oriented services
RAMBAN
Landslides damage 5 houses in J&K’s Ramban
At least 13 houses and a road stretch of 200 meters was damaged in an incident of ‘land erosion’ at Duksar Dal areas of Gool in Ramban district. The affected families were shifted the safer places. The land sliding had been witnessed in the area for three consecutive days. DC Ramban said a requisition has been sent for expert advice from geologists to ascertain the reasons. Meanwhile, in the Rezan area of the Ganderbal district, soil erosion led to damage to several houses. In the Noorabad area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, a landslide damaged five shops belonging to Fayaz Ahmad Hajam and Abdul Majeed Hajam. A house also suffered minor damage.
As per official figures, Kupwara’s Hagnikoot and Nichahama have 9 Lakh metric tonne Lignite deposits while Awoora and Zirhama have 8 lakh metric tonne high-quality Marble deposits
SRINAGAR
Racing for career, Kashmir young girls at a JK Police recruitment rally at Humhama Srinagar in June 2021. Photo: JKP
The government cancelled the results of two Border Battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Police after “observing” some discrepancies. The examination for 1300 Constable posts in JK Police Border Battalion was conducted in October last year and the results were declared in January 2023. An official notification issued by Additional Director General of Police Coordination PHQ Danesh Rana stated that after the declaration of the final result issued on January 25, 2023 in respect of candidates of UT of Jammu and Kashmir who have participated in the recruitment process for the post of Constable in two Border Battalions of Jammu and Kashmir Police conducted in terms of the above-referenced advertisement notifications, some discrepancies in the said result were observed.
QAZIGUND
Thousands of fish at a spring in the Babapora (Qazigund) died after the water body developed a low concentration of oxygen. In a never-before incident, the dead fish were flushed towards the mouth of the spring. Spring is the natural exit point at which groundwater emerges out of the aquifer and flows onto the top of the Earth’s crust to become surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere as well as a part of the water cycle.
As per officials, a spring located at Babapora with good discharge for the past many years was selected as a source for this water supply scheme for villages – Babaporateng, Mandhole and Chandian Pajan. They said there was a reduction in the discharge of the spring in such a way that almost all the fish (in quintals) which were initially inside the spring under the hillock came out towards the mouth of the spring, which has never happened before. This created panic for us as well as the local people, they said.
SRINAGAR
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry elected its new leadership on February 22, 2023.
Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCC&I) elected its new executive committee with 21 candidates in the fray emerging victorious. The KCC&I later elected its office bearers and the Executive Committee with Javid Ahmad Bhat (Tenga) elected as President, and Ashaq Hussain Shangloo and Fayaz Ahmad Punjabi being elected as Sr. Vice President and Jr. Vice President respectively. Faiz Ahmad Bakshi has been elected as Secretary General while Dr Umar Nazir Tibetbaqal is the new Jt. Secretary-General and Zubair Mahajan has been appointed as Treasurer. Akib Chaya bagged the highest number of votes with 453 voting in his favour followed by Umar Nazir Tibatbaqal with 444 votes.
PATTAN
In a strange incident, a government school teacher posted in the Pattan area of Baramulla district assaulted his colleague and bit his ear. The incident took place on February 21 after the two teachers entered into a verbal brawl over some discussion on managing charge of school assignments. As the teachers exchanged heated arguments, one of the teachers attacked his colleague and bite his ear. Following the incident, the J&K Police in Pattan arrested a teacher for assaulting his colleague and registered an FIR in the case as well. An official said the teacher who was attacked has got around 6 stitches in his ear. Meanwhile, the district education authorities in Baramulla have ordered an inquiry into the matter and are mulling taking departmental action against the teacher.
SRINAGAR
Jairam Ramesh
Former colleagues, Jairam Ramesh and Ghulam Nabi Azad are at loggerheads once again, as Azad has slapped the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh with a defamation notice for reportedly calling him a “slave”, “Mir Jafar” and a “vote- cutter”. In the notice, which has been sent through Azad’s legal counsel Naresh Kumar Gupta, the DAP chief seeks compensation of Rs 2 crore from the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh for causing damage to his “unblemished reputation”. It is pertinent to mention that earlier in January, the senior Congress leader took a jibe at Ghulam Nabi Azad’s DAP by calling it the “Disappearing Azad Party” after the exit of the leaders from the newly formed DAP. Earlier during Bharat Jodo Yatra’s J&K leg, Ramesh had called DAP chief “Mir Jafar” and alleged that he had been propped up by the BJP to cut the Congress’ votes in J&K.
RAMBAN
social media
A teacher has been suspended for allegedly criticising policies of the government on social media platforms in the Ramban district. According to an order, Joginder Singh, teacher GPS Chanderkote was suspended for criticising policies of the government on social media platforms. The teacher, as per the order, has been attached to the office of chief education officer Ramban and an inquiry committee has also been constituted, which will be headed by additional district development commissioner Ramban to probe the matter.
KARNATAKA
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed various groups after inaugurating various development projects in Srinagar on Monday, October 25, 2021. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that by reading- down Article 370, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the “merger” of Jammu Kashmir forever with India. Speaking at an election rally in Sandur, Karnataka Shah praised the government’s move and highlighted the significant improvement in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation. Shah refuted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of a bloodbath in the region, stating that the abrogation has led to the lowest figures of terrorism-related incidents. The Home Minister also added that the move has led to a lot of positive changes in the region. The abrogation of Article 370, which had caused harm to the country, was a significant move made by the BJP-led government in 2019, Shah said. Despite opposition from various political parties, the government’s decision has permanently ensured Jammu and Kashmir’s integration into India. The improved situation in the region has been well-received and is a cause for celebration for the entire country, he added.
PULWAMA
Robbers brandishing toy guns loot the Sopore family
In a bizarre incident in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, five villagers were allegedly looted by extortionists holding a “toy gun’. The incident was reported from Trichal village barely 3 kilometres away from the Pulwama district headquarters. As per reports, five villagers who were intending to enter the mosque to offer Fajr prayers were stopped by three extortionists who were probably carrying toy pistols. The victims have been identified as Tawseef Ahmed Bhat son of Ali Muhammad Bhat, Muzafar Ahmed Dar son of Ghulam Hasan Dar, Javaid Ahmed Mohand son of Ghulam Hasan Mohand, Haji Ali Muhammad Dar and Muhammad Shaban Bhat son of Ali Muhammad Bhat.
KOKERNAG
Saddam Nab Azad, with his right hand, raised, son of Ghulam Nabi Azad has joined the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP). He was seen at the party’s youth convention at Nigheen Club on February 26, 2023.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), has announced that if his party wins the upcoming assembly elections, he will bring back the Roshni Act in the Union Territory. The Act, which provides ownership rights to occupants, was initially passed in 2001 by the National Conference government but was repealed in 2018 by the then-governor Satya Pal Malik. Addressing a rally at Larnoo Kokernag, Azad expressed his concern over the economic crises in Jammu and Kashmir and said that his aim is to build the region as a welfare state, where the economy grows to the extent that people are willing to pay taxes themselves. He emphasized that the poor are being crushed by rising electricity bills, water charges, and property taxes.
SRINAGAR
High Court of Jammu and Kashmir
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh directed the authorities to proceed with the termination of an 18-20-week pregnancy of an alleged minor rape victim after having a fresh examination of the victim and after the father of the minor gives “extra high-risk consent.” The victim’s father had approached the court seeking termination of the pregnancy of the minor. In the rape case, an FIR was registered at a police station in north Kashmir on February 14.
SRINAGAR: Alarm bells have started ringing in the academic campuses world over as artificial intelligence can do more than what students are required to do in classrooms, at home and while writing their examinations. Though the technology is still in its infancy stage, the value addition could threaten the jobs of millions of people across diverse sectors.
ChatGPT, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chat platform can write essays, legal briefs, scripts, emails, poetry, jokes, computer programmes, business proposals, complex code, debug your code, clear exams, do worksheets, write healthy recipes, and can write all types of comprehensive and error-free content among other complex things.
Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) can get you all the things you could ask for in a simple chat. It is the AI platform integrated with the messaging platform. The open access to the app can lure students to do their homework and assignments through the IA platforms, which poses a great challenge to the ethics surrounding this advanced technology.
The text-based AI Chatbot is the creation of the San-Francisco based Start-up called ‘Open-AI’. The ChatGPT interface allows users to converse with the AI model in English and many other languages. It is almost like talking with a human. It gives answers within seconds one on one just by prompting a question/query/phrase.
What Is ChatGPT And Why Is Everybody Talking About It?
The implications of ChatGPT are stark for educators, academicians, editors, researchers, scriptwriters, screenwriters, and content writers among others. They are worrisome and in severe despondency because of the fear of being jobless due to this advanced AI tool.
This text-generation tool poses a great threat to the education sector as the educationists fear that students will never need to learn to write, as they can merely lean on ChatGPT.
According to the Brookings Institute, “ChatGPT is the latest challenge to the creative human intellect. It is a conversational bot responsive to users’ questions in ways that allows it to search large databases in a fraction of a second.”
Schools and colleges all over the world have been banning this software because of its heavy usage in writing homework and assignments. New York City’s Department of Education imposed a ban on ChatGPT immediately after its passing of complex exams surfaced on social networking sites. It achieved almost fifty per cent in one of the difficult medical exams called the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). In another separate case, ChatGPT gained more than average in the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton MBA exam. It also cleared the US law exam with an ample score to qualify.
Indian educators, technologists, and entrepreneurs are also in the doldrums because of the rising implications of the ChatGPT. Could it replace the role of a teacher? Could the intelligent Chat bot add to rising dropout rates in schools and colleges, are among the intriguing questions they are looking for? Rashtreeya Vidyalaya (RV) University in the technology capital of India, Bengaluru is the first Indian University that banned ChatGPT on its campus. French, German, and Australian universities are also planning to put a blanket ban on the usage of ChatGPT inside the campus.
Although there is a significant discussion about the potential misuse of ChatGPT, the prevalent among them is its use by students to write essays, assignments, and other assigned homework.
Many educationists propose that AI should be seen as an opportunity rather than a hindrance in education. George Siemen, an international expert on AI suggests, “Educators should focus on how AI can be used to improve education. Chatbots like ChatGPT are innovations that are here to stay, so rather than banning them, it is far more beneficial for educators to explore and experiment with such tools to get a better sense of what can be done with them to generate better ideas.”
The panic about the technological threat to education is not new, but every advancement in technology proved to be a blessing in disguise and improved the ways of learning new things. Advancements in learning technology from slate, chalk, and paper, to digital pages and three-dimensional simulation videos all were previously called the death of learning, which proved otherwise. Therefore, panicking and saying ‘you cannot touch the technology’ is not a way out. It is how we get used to it that will be valuable to students and teachers, reported The Age.
Even though Open AI also released anti-cheating software called ‘AI-text Classifier’ that could identify the AI-produced text by studying the hiding cryptographic signals, called watermarks, its effectiveness is still doubtful because it does not cite the source of information and thus there is no linkage formation between the reader and the writer.
ChatGPT has amassed five million users within five days of its release. It gained a hundred million monthly active users only two months into its launch and became the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Thus, it is a revolution that we cannot ignore or run away from.
There is no doubt that Chatbots like ChatGPT will increase the domain and scope of knowledge but the question remains whether students will continue to learn the basic skills and whether this technology will really become the next big thing.
