GDC’s in J&K record over 7 per cent rise in admissions

Srinagar, Jun 2: Authorities on Tuesday said that Government Degree Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir have recorded an increase of more than seven percent in student enrolment in the first round of admissions compared to previous year.
The government also said that it was expecting a 20% increase in student enrolment by the completion of the admission process.
Taking to the microblogging site X, Education Minister Sakeena Itoo said, “This year, due to the decisions taken to ease and simplify the admission process in Govt. Degree Colleges across J&K, we have witnessed a significant increase in student enrolment, reversing the declining trend in college admissions seen in recent years.”
She said, “In the very first round itself, admissions have reached 49,155 compared to 45,920 last year reflecting an increase of over 7%.”
The minister further said, “By the completion of the admission process, we expect total admissions to cross 55,000 by the end of June, representing nearly a 20% increase over previous year.”
“This encouraging response reflects the success of our efforts to make higher education more accessible, transparent and student-friendly across Jammu & Kashmir. We remain committed to ensuring that every aspiring student gets an opportunity to pursue quality higher education,” Itoo posted on social media.
As already reported in March, the government degree colleges in Jammu and Kashmir were facing a dismal student enrolment.
At that time, Government Degree College Baghi Dilawar Khan and Government Degree College Chattisinghpora had no active student enrolment.
GDC Chattisinghpora and GDC Baghi Dilawar Khan were placed under the charge of Government Degree College, Anantnag and S.P College, Srinagar, respectively, for administrative oversight.
The concerned minister had informed that less than 30 students were enrolled in each of the 13 colleges of Jammu and Kashmir.
The government figures had revealed that at least five colleges of Jammu and Kashmir were functioning with an enrolment of less than twenty students in 2025 and eight colleges were functioning with less than 30 students respectively.
The figures further reveal that in 14 colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, fewer than 50 students were enrolled in each college.
Furthermore, 24 government colleges were having less than 100 students enrolled in each college.
The government figures also reveal that in 13 colleges of Jammu and Kashmir, only 100-300 students were enrolled in each college.
Pertinently, the Higher Education Department earlier this year had decided to discontinue Common University Entrance Test (CUET) based admission for Undergraduate (UG) admissions for the academic session 2026–27 in all Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) of J&K.
The department had further decided to revert to a merit-based system on Class 12 scores.
In the previous academic session, the department had exempted 64 Government Degree Colleges from making admissions through CUET score for academic session 2024-25 in wake of low CUET based admissions in many degree colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. (KNO)