CHANDIGARH, July 28: The lack of infrastructural facilities, including shortage of accommodation and furniture has forced the Government Bikram College of Commerce to curtail the intake of students in the Plus One and Plus Two classes by half.This premier institute, the oldest commerce college in the northern region, is the only exclusive commerce college after Delhi's Shriram College of Commerce. Set up in 1945 at Faridkot, the college was shifted to Patiala in 1955. But ever since its shifting to Patiala, the college has been moving from one building to another as even after over four decades of its existence it is still without a building of its own.The college this year admitted only 80 students in Plus One class and an equal number in Plus Two class against the sanctioned strength of 160 students in each of these two classes. Most of the commerce students prefer to join this college because of the low tuition fee in this college compared to other privately managed colleges in the city and also because of its experienced staff. The college is also a favourite among the students because this is the only single stream college in commerce in the entire state.The college has the clearance to start Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor in Computer Application (BCA) courses but owing to shortage of accommodation, these courses have not been introduced so far though there is popular demand for the introduction of these courses.The college has no proper cycle stand or common rooms for boys and girls. It is using the hostels of the state college of education for lodging its students, both boys and girls. In a remote corner of the present college building is located the computer room. Funds from the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) are now being utilised to build a pucca entry path to the college which earlier used to become muddy every time it rained.Presently, the college is housed in a wing of the building of the State College of Education, it has a total of 12 rooms for classes of Plus One, Plus Two, B.Com part I,II and III, and M.Com Part I and II, besides typing, shorthand and computer.A few years back the college had got three additional rooms from the State College of Education but that was only for one session.The college has 27 staff members, including 12 commerce teachers while 15 teachers are working for other subjects, including economics, mathematics, English and computer.Though it is a single stream college, viz commerce, it is presently headed by Mukhtiar Singh, who is a postgraduate in History but according to accepted norms the college principal should be a postgraduate in Commerce or Economics.Mukhtiar Singh, when contacted, said that his post was an administrative post and he had been working in the college on the basis of a regular order of the Punjab Education Department.Balkar Singh, the dean of Colleges of Punjabi University, when contacted, said that as far as the university colleges were concerned it had a definite say in privately managed aided colleges and would not have allowed a postgraduate in a different subject to head a single stream college.
