LUCKNOW, April 8 -- Dearth of students at 10 out of 216 UP government-run degree colleges has raised concerns over the quality of teaching, planning, feasibility and accessibility to higher education even as officials concerned say these institutions were set up in recent years and that the issue will be resolved soon. Some of these colleges have not even 20 students and the figure is less than 50 in all of them. For instance, Government Degree College in Haripur, Nihastha, Rae Bareli, located just 2 km off the Kanpur-Rae Bareli highway and adjacent to the Ganga Expressway has all the features to be an ideal institution. The three-storey building has smart classrooms, laboratories, a seminar hall, a library, and a 39-bed women's hostel with gym facilities. Despite a significantly lower fee structure here-ranging from Rs.4,500 to Rs.5,448 for BA/BCom and Rs.5,756 to Rs.6,368 for BSc-compared to the fees charged by private colleges (approximately Rs.6,000-Rs.7,000 for BA/BCom and Rs.10,000-Rs.11,000 for BSc)-student admissions remain scarce. There are just 19 students (7 boys and 12 girls). Affiliated with the University of Lucknow, the college has 11 teachers (two attached with LU). College principal Jai Shanker said, "There are quite a few private degree colleges within 7 km of our college. Students prefer to study in nearby private colleges rather than seeking admission in our college. Here teaching started in 2016. Highest 39 students were enrolled in the year 2019 and 34 in 2018. After Covid-19, the number fell sharply." Academic activities at Government Women's College in Mishrikh, Sitapur, commenced in 2025. In the inaugural year, the college saw only 15 admissions: 14 students enrolled in the BA programme and one in BSc programme, and there were no enrolments whatsoever in the BCom stream. Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya Govt Degree College Bidhuna, Auraiya, has just 18 students according to data shared by regional higher education, UP. When contacted MP Agarwal, principal secretary, higher education, UP, said, "Many of these are new colleges which started a few years ago. Out of the total 216 government degree colleges, more than 171 of them are old ones. Among these, there are 12-15 colleges where student enrolment is less than 200. The remaining are newer institutions and some of them started academic sessions last year. We are working on it and will try to fix it soon." UP regional higher education officer Ashwini Kumar Mishra said, "Many of these colleges are quite new. Efforts are underway to increase student enrolment this session." Director, higher education, BL Sharma said, "We are trying to identify the grey areas and will address them soon." LU vice-chancellor Prof JP Saini said, "The higher education department will take corrective measures. The university will also look into the issue."...