The Falaknuma Government Degree College shares its name with the famous palace and is perhaps a kilometre away from the residence built by Viqar ul Umra.
In a densely populated locality, the college has 1,300 students on its rolls. And these students have six classrooms, two full-time faculty members, and the toilets are temporary stalls installed by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
The college has B. Com (Computer Applications) with 360 sanctioned intake but no computer laboratory. Rather, the college doesn’t have computers except those used by officials to process admissions. Ironically, two batches of students have passed out of the college which was established in 2017.
“The building was marked for demolition. But has been restored and the plastering hides the damage,” says one of the faculty members at the college pointing to the staff room ceiling where a large chunk had flaked off showing rusted iron rods. During the recent rains, the building was surrounded by a pool of water.
“The said college building was constructed long back, which is in a dilapidated condition, which is not feasible for repairing, and for safety purpose this building has to be dismantled,” wrote the executive director of Telangana State Education Women and Infrastructure Development in October 2020.
While the University Grants Commission norms say there should be one classroom for 40 students, the Falaknuma Degree College is perhaps an exception with 216 students per classroom.
“We have raised the issue of problems facing this college with both political and administrative authorities but nothing has changed,” says R. Nagender Reddy, principal of the institution.
“We don’t drink water once we enter the college. The only toilet we have is that we share with the students of junior college. Most students don’t spend time to attend classes due to this,” says one of the teachers about the absence of toilet facility in the college.
The college is a top draw for students living in the surrounding areas but the trade-off is steep. The college has 14 guest faculty as against a sanctioned 28.
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