The establishment of 50 new degree colleges in Jammu and Kashmir is a welcome move by the Governor Satya Pal Malik’s administration which will go a long way in bringing higher education at the doorsteps of people. More often than ever, hundreds and hundreds of students are forced to travel long distances in order to reach their colleges. It has also been seen that after passing class 12 examination some students simply decide not to pursue higher education because of lack of accessibility. It is in this light that the Governor Malik’s decision will play a significant role in ensuring that people living in the remotest parts of the state are not denied the fruits of education. Once these colleges are set up, it will change the fortunes of the dispossessed and disadvantaged sections of our society. Students from Kalaroos in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, who may be spending more time in travelling to their colleges than in their classes, will now certainly heave a sigh of relief with the new announcement. Those spending lakhs of rupees for renting accommodations around their nearest college can, in their pursuits of academic journeys, use that money for buying books. This will significantly relieve pressure off the shoulders of their parents who want their children to get the best quality education. However, there are also arguments, most of them holding lots of water, that the new colleges will only end up eroding the academic excellence that has been achieved by the educational institutions of the state. This contrarian view argues that the state government, instead of spending thousands of crores on building new colleges, should strengthen the infra at the existing ones so that good quality education can be provided to the students. In view of the modernisation that the education sector has witnessed across the world and particularly in the western world, our state seems to have fallen behind. We have not kept pace with the rapid changes that the concept of education has witnessed in recent years which focusses more on practical and market driven ideation rather than rote learning. Although the NAAC recently accredited the University of Kashmir and its affiliated colleges with A accreditation, things are not as rosy as the UGC body has painted in its report. The state of academic culture and the education will only get better if the state administration focuses on quality rather than quantity.