Private Schools’ Association supports students duped by outside colleges

Srinagar, Jun 29: Private Schools Association JK (PSAJK) on Friday said they receive five to six cases daily of the students duped by the private colleges outside the state.

“Around 5-6 students approach us on a daily basis. We try to do the useful, but cannot. We even informed the government,” G N Var, President PSAJK, told a press conference here.

The conference had been called in connection with the latest incidents of fraud in the admissions provided to the students from Kashmir.

In 2009, Var said, many students were duped.

“One of them was a relative of the then-Station House Officer (SHO) Budgam. FIR was lodged and some persons were declared proclaimed offenders, yet no one was arrested. The investigations had revealed nonexistence of that particular college,” he said.

He asked the government to help the locals to set up professional institutions.

“We have the capacity to accommodate 5,000 candidates, when the need is to accommodate around 60,000,”he said, asking the crime branch to act against the fraudsters.

“Consultants are not registered. They have been deceiving the people. They are hand in glove with the colleges. Even students, after completing their degrees, opt for marketing.”

He threatened to launch a protest campaign if the problem was not viewed seriously by the government.

Var was accompanied by the duped students, who shared their stories with the media.

Shahid Malik, a student duped by Swami Devi Dyal Institute of Engineering &Technology at Panchkula, Haryana, said his admission was cancelled after one year.

Majeed, who took admission in the B Tech Civil in 2016, had to eventually join B Sc against his will.

“I took admission for 2016 batch. I wanted to become an engineer and had plans to appear in GATE, but I couldn’t. My father was the only source of income in the family. He died in 2014,” he said.

“The expenses were being managed by my mother and brother. Due to lack of money, I couldn’t take admission in another college, so I stayed here and joined B Sc course.”

“I have deposited Rs 1,50,000 fee. Initially, we were kept in dark but when the examination of 3rd semester was about to commence, we were told that you have not been registered with the Kurukshetra University.”