Chair of IIT Kharagpur BOG says that construction of an off-campus branch of IIT Kharagpur in Orissa will start this year
May 3rd, 2007
In Today’s Telegraph, it is reported that:
Goenka, who is also the chairman of the board of governors of IIT-Kharagpur, said the construction for an off-campus branch of the IIT would start this year. The state has already offered 300 acres of land near Bhubaneswar for the campus and is committed to provide all the necessary assistance for this purpose. The Rs 800-crore project would house nearly 5,000 students annually. The institute will impart technical education to around 5,000 students.
I don’t know if this is to be believed or not. However, let me briefly touch upon the history of this branch campus idea.
In 2006 many of the IITs thought they had the green signal to open branches and they made various announcements. But at the end there were four serious plans: IIT Bombay making a branch campus in Gandhinagar, Gujarat; IIT Madras making a branch campus in Kerala; and IIT Kharagpur making branch campuses in Rajrahat, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
But something went wrong. (Someone close to the action told me that the Kolkata people had an inauguration for their campus and did not invite Arjun Singh and he got upset .) Newsreports came in that the branch campus ideas were shelved. However, Gujarat and Orissa [Patna Daily] are not taking this lying down and are openly asking for IITs and I am sure Kerala and West Bengal are doing it behind the scenes. I believe that at some point these four branch campuses will materailize, but not sure how soon. Also, the words of IIT directors or the chair of their board of governors does not count, if they don’t have the blessings of the union HRD ministry.
In this particular case, the chair of IIT Kharagpur board of Governors Mr. Goenka’s main aim is to get the coal block. So I don’t know how serious he is about the IIT Kharagpur branch campus in Orissa. Also, he knows that if the IIT branch campus thing in Orissa does not materialize then he can blame the HRD minister for not approving it. However, at an opportune time, perhaps with a more supportive HRD minister, we can hold him to his word.
Entry Filed under: IIT Kharagpur branch in Bhubaneswar,IIT, oDishA
3 Writeup
1. Debu | May 4th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I am listening and seeing the existance of extension counter of IIT KGP for decades !!
http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/institute/extension.php
Does it mean anything ? For, what reason a STATEMENT ? Does it enhance anything in mind ?
In a conference one said “All written printed statements are not true ” Perhaps it applies to all field and not bound for science only.
2. Sanjoy Das | May 4th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
A branch campus of IIT KGP is simply not good enough.
Orissa has not had any significant investment in educational institutions for SIXTY years. If Orissa would not have been meted step-motherly treatment, by now it would have been harvesting the rich benefits of a premier institution, and would have been much further down the path of industrialization.
There are only two other states, Rajasthan and Bihar, which like Orissa, have not seen huge central investments in educational institutions. however, the government is setting up two greenfield IITs in both these states. In due course, benefits will accrue there too.
Simply put, the planned IIT extension is too late, too little!
3. R. K. Ghosh | May 14th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Well Bihar and Rajasthan will have their IITs shortly. Andhra Pradesh will get one as well. In the meantime the MHRD has already spiked extension center plan of IIT Kharagpur at Bhubaneswar. All the extension centers of other IITs like IITB’s proposed one in Gandhinagar, Gujrat, IITM’s center at Thiruvanantapuram also were scrapped. It seems that MHRD feels that these center could actually be surrogate for establishing IITs through backdoor. The official reason for MHRD ordering them to close expansion plans is lthat it will affect of quality of IIT education.