[Bengia Ajum]
ITANAGAR, 3 Oct: Dera Natung Government College (DNGC) here – one of the most popular government colleges of Arunachal Pradesh – is struggling to cope with the growing demands for admission.
With each passing year, the number of students seeking admission in the college is increasing way beyond the intake capacity. At present, the college has an intake capacity for 1,900 students, in the arts (1,400), science (300), and commerce (200) streams.
However, in the last three years, the number of students seeking admission in the first year has averaged at around 4,000. While the intake capacity is only for 1,900, the number of applicants consistently hovers at around 4,000. Also, DNGC is reeling under an extreme shortage of non-teaching staff.
The college authorities are increasingly finding it difficult to handle the situation. “Majority of students who seek admission are from economically weaker sections. They can’t afford to go outside the state or join private colleges. Sometimes even their parents come to us and beg for admission. We feel helpless in such a situation. We want to give opportunity to every student but we have limited intake capacity and cannot outstretch ourselves by going beyond it,” said DNGC Principal Dr MQ Khan.
Even though the college infrastructure is meeting present requirements, the authorities want better improved infrastructure for future needs.
“We need more classrooms as the number of papers for each semester has increased from four to six, as per the National Education Policy, 2024. Also, at present, the hostel capacity is for 130 girls and 88 boys. Further, hostel rooms for 100 girls and 300 boys are in the construction stage. However, these will not absorb even 10 percent of the students. The hostels’ capacity also will have to be upgraded to accommodate more students in the future,” said Dr Khan.
With improvement in various examination results and overall improvement in the academic atmosphere, DNGC is attracting the interest of students from across Arunachal Pradesh. Altogether 37 students of DNGC secured the top 10 position in the examinations conducted by RGU. Also, 20 students represented the state in sports competitions at the national level.
Further, the effort of the state government to start degree colleges in the districts with the hope of reducing the rush in DNGC has not achieved the desired result. Even the students of districts like Kurung Kumey (Tadar Taniang Government College) and Keyi Panyor (Yachuli Government College) prefer DNGC. There is an urgent need to establish one more degree college in Itanagar, preferably in areas like Chimpu or Ganga village, to ease the burden on DNGC.
DNGC started as a government degree college on 6 September, 1979. It started functioning from the present campus in 1986.
