Port Blair, July 3: The Member of Parliament, A&N Islands, Shri. Kuldeep Rai Sharma has requested the Hon’ble Lt. Governor, A&N Islands to start a second shift in various colleges to accommodate more and more students in this academic year.

In a letter addressed to the Lt. Governor, the Member of Parliament mentioned that as admissions are going on, a large number of students in our Islands eagerly apply for undergraduate courses in local colleges such as JNRM, ANCOL, MGGC and others but due to the limited number of available seats in these local colleges, only approximately half of the students are able to secure admissions. This situation compels the remaining students to seek undergraduate courses in mainland India, which often comes at a substantial financial burden. “A large number of students coming from remote Islands do not have a sound financial background to study in Mainland India,” he explained.

The Member of Parliament also pointed out that those students, who cannot afford education in mainland India are left with no alternative but to either drop out of higher education or resort to pursuing private employment or study through distance learning. “This trend has been occurring consistently over the past several years, indicating a severe shortage of seats in undergraduate courses in Andaman & Nicobar Islands,” he said.

In light of this critical issue, he requested the Hon’ble Lt. Governor to start a second shift in all various colleges. He said that by doing so, the Administration can accommodate those students who are unable to secure admissions based on merit. This would enable them to pursue various courses in this UT, without having to incur exorbitant expenses to study in mainland India.