Odisha HRD

IISERs to come under NIT act?

July 13th, 2008

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Under pressure from the IISERs at Calcutta, Pune and Mohali, the Centre is rushing to amend the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Act of 2007 to recognise the degrees, top government officials have said.

Over 250 students are studying for unrecognised degrees at the institutes set up in 2006 at the behest of the Prime Minister as the Centre’s answer to the lack of top-quality undergraduate science schools.

In a month, the three existing IISERs — billed as potential Indian Institutes of Technology — are expected to increase their intake by 300 with a record number of students joining their courses this year.

Two new IISERs — at Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram — are also starting classes this academic session, admitting an additional 42 students each in their debut year.

The human resource development ministry was earlier planning to introduce an IISER act recognising the five-year integrated MS degrees offered by the institutes.

But the new law, modelled on the IIT act that guides India’s premier engineering schools, was taking time and testing the patience of the IISERs, sources at the ministry and the institutes said. Now, the ministry has decided to recognise the IISER degrees through an amended NIT act.

“Minor amendments to an existing law are easier to pass through the cabinet and then Parliament. A completely new law is scrutinised more at both stages and takes longer. The IISERs are under pressure and can’t wait any longer,” a senior ministry official said.

The NIT (Amendment) Bill, 2008, has been drafted and is currently awaiting the approval of HRD minister Arjun Singh, sources said.

Ministry officials said they were hoping to introduce the amendment bill in the monsoon session of Parliament, expected in August.

…  But the pressure from the existing IISERs is not the only reason behind the move now, ministry sources said. “We are starting two new IISERs this year, and the concern that five premier institutions would be offering courses without recognition proved too much,” an official said.

Entry Filed under: IITs, IISc, IISERs, NISER, IIMs,NITs, IIITs,Odisha, others and the center