M A I N   N E W S

Jalandhar REC to become NIT
Case being pursued vigorously
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19
While two Regional Engineering Colleges at Kurukshetra (Haryana) and Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh) have benefited from the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s scheme of upgrading these institutions into National Institutes of Technology (NITs), the case of one at Jalandhar (Punjab) is pending.

Under the scheme, the NITs are to be developed as autonomous academic institutions of excellence to enable them to function more effectively through responsive and relevant academic programme. The entire funding is to be done by the Centre.

The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, while visualising this scheme wanted that the NITs should be administered from a national perspective rather than a region specific focus.

At present, there are about 1,000 degree-level engineering institutions having an annual intake of 2,90,000 students. In spite of this figure, the ratio of scientists/technicians to per 1000 of population in India is just 3.5 compared to 110 in Japan, 86 in Germany, 55 in the USA and 8.1 in China.

Keeping in view the great contribution by Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in national reconstruction after Independence, the Human Resource Ministry picked one REC each from Punjab (Jalandhar), Haryana (Kurukshetra) and Himachal Pradesh (Hamirpur).

Chandigarh, too, would like to benefit from this scheme. “But our problem is that our Punjab Engineering College is still not autonomous. Once it is autonomous or gets the status of a deemed university, it could benefit from this scheme,” says Mr R.S. Gujral, Home Secretary-cum-Secretary, Technical Education, Chandigarh Administration.

While both Haryana and Himachal were quick to act and complied with all the requirements of the scheme, Punjab reportedly lagged behind and would have to wait for some months before it too gets its REC at Jalandhar upgraded as an NIT.

The Human Resource Ministry has already declared 10 RECs located at Allahabad, Bhopal, Calicut, Hamirpur, Jaipur, Kurukshetra, Nagpur, Rourkela, Suratkhal and Silchar as NITs.

Dr R. Sharma, Principal, Regional Engineering College, Jalandhar, says that before Punjab could benefit from the scheme, the Board of Governors of the college has to adopt a resolution and the society has to be registered as a national institute of technology.

“It will take us a couple of months. Our request is in the pipeline,” says Dr Sharma, maintaining that he was in Delhi a couple of days ago to pursue the case. He maintains that certain loans and grants from the World Bank and other such institutions would come only after these RECs are rechristened as NITs.

Under the scheme, each of the REC would be granted the status of a “deemed university” and would be renamed NIT. They will have the power to award degrees on their own and will enjoy complete academic autonomy.

The scheme is aimed at making higher engineering/technical education autonomous. Instead of the Technical Education Minister continuing as Chairman of the committee, it would now be headed by an eminent technologist, engineer, industrialist or academician. The Board of Governors of each of the NIT would be an eminent person from the field of academics, industry and technology.

Under the scheme, while 50 per cent of the seats would remain for students from within the state, the remaining would be filled on an all-India basis. The NITs would undertake joint research, get input for curriculum design and conduct short-term courses for engineers as a part of regular interaction with the industry. Besides, these would develop and offer inter-disciplinary and specialised programmes in newer technologies at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Besides, there would be a conscious effort to narrow down the gap between the curriculum content and the job requirements on a continual basis. A continual assessment of curriculum content and educational process and revision of the programmes and schemes based on realistic needs of the industry or user agencies would take place in NITs with the active participation of experts.

To encourage a new culture of inquiry and research, the NITs would start specialisation, need-based postgraduate and research programmes focused on industrial development issues of the region.