Jammu, Feb 10,: Senior political leader and former Union minister Karan Singh on Tuesday questioned the decision to shut down Vaishno Devi Medical College, calling it an unjustified move that has harmed education, employment, and future academic opportunities in the Jammu region.
Addressing a public gathering in Jammu, Dr Karan Singh said the closure of the medical college was difficult to comprehend, particularly at a time when access to higher education needs expansion rather than contraction. He said the institution had the potential to accommodate an increasing number of local students, including Dogra youth, in the coming years.
Without entering political debate, Singh according to the news agency Kashmir News Trust said shutting down an educational institution should never be a matter of celebration. He said the college was not only a centre of learning but also a significant source of employment and regional pride.
Dr Karan Singh said the decision had deprived future batches of students of opportunities that would have otherwise grown with time, adding that more students from the region would have benefited from the institution in the next academic cycles.
He expressed anguish over what he termed politicization of the issue, stating that decisions related to education must be guided by long-term public interest and social responsibility rather than political narratives. [KNT]
