20 new IIITs wait for the approval of the finance committee and the union cabinet
October 3rd, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a report in dnaindia.com.
Jayalakshmi Venugopal / DNA, Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:03 IST
The Planning Commission approved "in principle" plans of the Union ministry of human resources development to establish 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) under the 11th Five Year Plan across various locations in India.
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the trade body of the IT and BPO sector, was entrusted with the task of preparing a detailed project report (DPR) which would incorporate a model of private-public partnership in the setting up of these new institutes.
This plan, prepared by NASSCOM, was submitted in May 2008, and has now been granted the Planning Commission’s go-ahead.
However, it is still awaiting the green signal from the finance committee of the Union government and the central cabinet.
Entry Filed under: Berhampur-Gopalpur-Hinjilicut area (3),Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri- Khurda area (1),IIIT, Berhampur (proposed),IIIT, Bhubaneswar,NITs, IIITs
3 Writeup
1. R.K. Ghosh | October 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I am horrified to see the news item. Faculty crisis is already a serious issue for new IITs. Prof. M. K. Surappa of IIT-Pujab has reportedly expressed serious concern about availability of faculty (see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chandigarh/Ropar-IIT-fails-to-attract-suitable-teachers/articleshow/5073920.cms). As far as my information goes, IIT-Rajasthan is doing no better. IIT-Ahmedabad, IIT-Patna are also experiencing difficulties in hiring quality faculty. I am not aware of IIT-Bhubaneswar or IIT-Hyderabad. But my guess is that the situation will be no better. Given the ground scenario, govt’s grand plan can only spell trouble for technical education in the country. Few available faculty will spread thinly over entire country depending on their preferences for locations. So ultimately all the institutions are bound to experience similar quality crunch in teaching. A few existing good institutions will also be ruined in the process. If reach of technical education is solely decided by locations and ease to procure certificates, then a still better idea could be to award post-dated certificate to all eligible candidates after a joint entrance examination. It will not only save money and time for aspiring technocrats but also save money for govt saddled perpetually with a huge fiscal deficit. In fact, AICTE was also established with the vision to make technical education within reach of every one through a regulatory system of private educational providers. It had failed miserably. Now there is a serious thinking about disbanding AICTE as well as UGC. The plan appears to be on similar lines. However, there is a serious lack of understanding the implementation related issues. One must realize that creating educational institutions is not all about building concrete, sand and mortars structures. The most important issue is creating a pool of well trained people with good faculty material which can provide lifeline for sustenance of these institutions.
2. Vyas | October 8th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I AGREE WITH MR. R K GHOSH
3. d c patnaik | October 10th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I think in the absence of quality faculty Govt should encourage brilliant professionals from industry and those working in govt and having excellent careers into teaching. I for one can say that eventhough I want to join engg college faculty but my only B Tech qualification is acting as dampner eventhough i was NIT overall topper. And in our time those in the top who got many offers hardly thought M Tech or PhD as a career option