Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday wrote a letter to the Union Ministry of Human Resources, demanding that Burla Engineering College be accorded National Institute of Technology (NIT) status. In his letter to Union Minister of HRD Arjun Singh, the CM said the institution which was established in 1956 in an area of 200 acres, is one of the premier engineering institutes of the State. The institute provides facilities for nearly 500 students.
Following is from Dharitri.
Following are excerpts from a report in Pragativadi.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Union Human Resources Development ministry to accord National Institute of Technology (NIT) status to the Burla Engineering College.
… It may be mentioned here that there was a vociferous demand for converting the Burla Engineering College to Indian Institute of Technology soon after the Centre’s announcement to set up an IIT in Orissa.
Later, a delegation of the Old Students’ Forum, led by Sambalpur MLA and commerce and transport minister Jayanarayan Mishra had met the chief minister and submitted a memorandum to this effect.
But the state government later expressed its reluctance in this regard as it wanted the IIT location near Bhubaneswar.
The chief minister, however, urged the Centre to accord the NIT status to the premiere engineering college.
Justifying his contention, Patnaik said that the college has been providing education in nine subjects including the BTech while it has got the necessary infrastructure facility for MCA, IT and other IT related courses.
Considering the fact that the college has the reputation of imparting quality education, the chief minister said that there should be no difficulty to accord NIT status to this college.
It may be mentioned here that the former Regional Engineering College at Rourkela has already been accorded with the NIT status.
This is a good step as there are plans to have 10 more NITs during the 11th plan.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday laid foundation stone for a degree Engineering college with an estimated cost of Rs 6 cr covering around 15 acres of land at Sitalapalli near Berhampur.
Following is an excerpt from a report in the Pioneer.
In another significant decision, the State Government has decided to set up a Government engineering college in Berhampur. The college will be set up in memory of the Maharaja of Parlakhemundi Krushna Chandra Gajapati. The college will be known as Parla Maharaja Engineering College.
A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bijoy Kumar Patnaik, Finance Secretary RN Senapati and Secretary Industries Chinmoy Basu were present at the meeting.
(Update on June 17 2008: For guidance on what you can get with your Orissa JEE rank in 2008, please see https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1185 I do not have more information than that.)
Continuing with our methodology, and solely based on the student preferences in the GE (general) category, we develop a ranking below. Our methodology is we compare when the various branches of the colleges get finished. For example below when we write CET (8, 8, 12, 12, 16) it means that two of the CET branches were all finished in the GE category by the ranks 800, two by 1200 and one by 1600. We will use the first three numbers unless it becomes necessary to go beyond that.
1. UCE Burla (8,8,12,12,16)
1. CET Bhubaneswar (8,8,12,12,16)
2. ITER Bhubaneswar (16,16,16)
3. Silicon Bhubaneswar (16, 20, 20)
4. CV Raman Bhubaneswar (20,24,28)
5. NIST Berhampur (24, 24, 28)
6. GITA Bhubaneswar(28,28,32)
7. Orissa Eng College Bhubaneswar (28, 28, 36)
7. IGIT Sarang (20,28,45)
8. College of Eng Bhubaneswar (36,36,41)
9. Gandhi Eng College Bhubaneswar (36,41,45)
10. Krupajala Bhubaneswar (45,45,45)
10. Trident Bhuabneswar (41, 45, 50)
11. East Bhubaneswar (45,55,66)
11. Gandhi Inst for Tech Bhubaneswar (50,50,60)
11. GIET Gunupur (50,50,60)
12. Orissa school of mining eng Keonjhar (45, 55, 117)
13. NMIET Bhubaneswar (66, 72, 78)
14. DRIEMS Dhenkanala(72,72,100)
15. Konark Bhubaneswar (78, 78, 117)
15. Koustuva Bhubaneswar (78, 100, 100)
15. Mahavir Bhubaneswar (78, 84, 100)
15. Synergy Dhenkanal (78, 84, 100)
16. Nalanda Bhubaneswar (84, 84, 100)
17. Rajdhani Bhubaneswar (84, 100, 100)
18. Roland Berhampur (84,100, 108)
19. Techno Bhubaneswar (84, 100, 117)
19. Padmanav Rourkela (100,100,100)
20. Ajay Binay Cuttack (100,100,117)
21. Ghanashyam Hemalata Puri(100,108,136)
22. Jagannath Cuttack (108,117,147)
22. Bhadrakh (117,117, 136)
23. JITM Parlakhemundi (117,126,147)
24. Inst of Adv Rayagada (117,136,159)
24. Sanjay Memorial Berhampur (117,147,159)
24. Purushottam Rourkela (126,126,136)
26. Balasore (136,136,159)
27. Seemanta Mayurbhanj (159, 159, 186)
28. Padmashree Baragarh (172,172,200)
29. Majighariani Rayagada (172,200,200)
30. Satyasai Balasore (159, 172, 999)
31. Samanta Chandra Sekhar Koraput (186,999,999)
32. Gopal Krishna Jeypore (999,999,999)
The colleges that are missing from the above are NIT Rourkela, and KIIT. I consider NIT Rourkela to currently be the best in Orissa. I would slot KIIT around ITER and Silicon.
Outlook for 2008-2009:
Now that ITER’s parent organization Siksha O Anusandhan has become a deemed university, ITER may opt out of Orissa JEE and/or 2008 BPUT counseling.
In 2008 and 2009 there would be several new colleges.
(i)Construction of Mining & Mineral Deptt. Building ( Block I) for OSME(Degree Stream) at Keonjhar-
Estimated cost Rs. 367.00 lakhs.
(ii)Construction of Electrical & Mechanical Deptt. Building
(Block II) for OSME (Degree Stream) at Keonjhar-
Estimated cost Rs. 367.00 lakhs.
from Special & Super class contractors registered under State PWD/ CPWD/ MES/ Railways including registered vendors of IDCO in the category of Rs.100 to 500 lakhs & above having experience in similar building works. The tender paper will be sold at a cost of Rs. 10,000.00 only from 14.02.08 to 21.02.08 between working hours on working days in the office of the Superintending Engineer, IDCO, IDCO Towers, Bhubaneswar. The completed tender documents should reach Superintending Engineer, IDCO, IDCO Towers, Janpath, Bhubaneswar-22 on or before 29.02.08 by 5.00 P.M. through registered post / speed post only. The technical bid will be opened on 03.03.08 at 11.30 A.M. For details please contact Sri Deepak Ranjan Tripathy, Deputy Manager (Civil) IDCO, IDCO Towers, Janpath, Bhubaneswar-22, Tel.0674-2546894 during office hours or see our website www.idcoindia.com The tender documents can also be down loaded from the above website upto 5 p.m. on 21.02.08.
The long-standing demand of the alumni and students of University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, has been met with the varsity being registered under Societies Act on Tuesday. This would pave way for the engineering college to stake for Deemed University status.
It has been registered as Orissa Institute of Technology (OIT) at Sambalpur. The change in the statute of Biju Pattnaik University of Technology BPUT) in the Assembly bifurcating OIT from under its ambit will follow. Only after ratification by the State Assembly, the OIT will move UGC for Deemed University status.
The Deemed University status would enable the Engineering College get more funds besides help in giving their existing infrastructure a facelift. The College is already bestowed with 200 acres of land and can acquire another 300 acres adjacent to the present campus if needed.
… If sources are to be believed, the varsity is seriously planning to raise the intake capacity of the government institutions.
The technical university’s four constituent colleges – University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, College of Engineering and Technology (CET), Bhubaneswar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology (IGIT), Saranga, and Orissa School of Mining Engineering (OSME), Keonjhar – impart different courses in engineering streams.
While UCE has seven disciplines with an intake capacity of about 270, annual approved strength of CET is 340 in as many as nine streams. Similarly, IGIT admits 150 students in five programmes, while OSME’s degree streams intake is about 90.
However, the BPUT management appears to believe that the government colleges are in need of increasing their intake capacity which will strengthen them financially.
While UCE, Burla and CET, Bhubaneswar, are primarily dependent on government, it is OSME (degree stream) which is self-sufficient.
In the last board of management meeting of the varsity, it was strongly felt that the private colleges have a much larger student strength compared to their government counterparts that contribute significantly to their solvency.
It has agreed that an increased intake in government constituent colleges is the need of the hour where the number of qualified teachers and overall infrastructure is better compared to those available in the private colleges.
A way out is to introduce self-financing models for the programmes. In fact, two engineering streams in UCE, Burla and four subjects in CET here are self-financing but the funds are not sufficient to support the increasing needs.
… The system was approved by a joint meeting of the university top brass with the management of colleges. It will be installed on a pilot basis in dozen colleges in the City and another two in Rourkela where the university is headquartered.
The system will come into effect by November 25 as the two software vendors which were roped in are ready with the customised programme.
Under the system, each member of the faculty would be required to enter the curriculum she/he is assigned to complete each day and the actual progress.
The faculty members will also indicate the attendance in a class so that the university can have a clear view on the students’ perfor mance.
The programmes are so designed that it will take a teacher about 10 minutes to post the day’s report.
“The report entry will be keyword-based. All that a teacher has to do is drag and drop words to indicate the subject he taught in a day,” BPUT Vice-Chancellor Omkar Nath Mohanty told this paper.
Besides, the university and college managements agreed to ban inter-college migration of teachers during the period from November 1 till July 30, 2008.
Only if teachers have valid grounds for a migration then only would they be allowed but after examination by a committee. Similarly, the teachers would be given a registration number by the varsity, subject to appearance before a selection committee.
It has also been decided to go ahead with the CCTV installation project. It has been estimated at Rs 2.5 lakh with 20 cameras, a central software and an access to the server.
Following is a first person report from one of the person who was present at the UCE Burla team’s meeting with the CM and others. (After the report, I will have a short analysis.)
It is Chak De hours for us, friends !
First, my thanks to the students who stood up to the task and continued their zero-incident strike for 12 days; they deserve huge ovation.
Second, thanks to CM who found time for us. Let me put in short what happened yesterday in CM’s meeting yesterday.
Govt had lined up Industry Minister Mr Harichandan, Industry Secretary Mr Dalwai, CM’s principal secretary, VC of BPUT and two more gentlemen. We had six students, Principal Dr Sanyal, Dr CR Tripathy and yours faithfully me.
Students first narrated what made them to go for strike. CM asked Industry Secy to respond. Secy said – (a) Society Registration file is with Finance Dept, Finance Minister will sign it tomorrow (16 Oct), then Industry Secy & minister. It is a matter of two or three days’s procedural time. But no hurdles, clearly. (b) BPUT Act shall be amended to disengage UCE from BPUT. It is none of our botheration. UCE will straightway go ahead to register as society. Industry Dept shall initiate a resolution in next Assembly. CM interjected to say it comes next month, in November. (c) CM said Govt will pursue the matter with UGC to ensure that we become Deemed University within 3 to 4 months. (but I personally believe it is an inadvertant over-statement by CM as state govt will not have any say in UGC except recommending. college authorities and we alumni have to pursue with UGC ourselves).
After students finished, I made few appeals on behalf of alumni. (a) Being the one and only college from Orissa which has potential to be put
into the league of quality colleges like Bengal Engg College, Jadavpur Univ, Osmania Univ, BHU, BIT or Anna University, state govt needs to go an extra mile beyond just conferring Deemed Univ status. CM nodded. (b) Only infrastructure added after it was built 50 years back by Hirakud Dam Project are a new library and an auditorium. Not only the 50-years-old college needs massive renovation, it also badly needs many more modern infrastructures. CM may plz depute high-level officials along with the Chief Architect of Orissa to campus who will assess the infrastructure, submit a master plan to CM based on which funds could be released over three/four years. CM nodded, asked his Secy to note it. (c) If UCE has to expand, which it will, it neds more land. Before encroached unauthorised by people, Govt may direct the local administration to transfer 300 acres available adjacent to UCE. CM said "he will look into this" (d) Alumni are rock-solid behind UCE. Alumni have built a Gate and are building an e_Learning Centre. I showed him the photos from the farther corner of the distance. CM asked me to come to him with the photos and had a long close look at both the structures. Jubilee Gate resembles India Gate, he commented. Said, he is happy that alumni are committed to the alma mater. Meeting ended. All for nearly 30 minutes. Students declared, they had called off the strike.
Later, Secy said CM kept a delegate of investors waiting as he wanted this meeting with UCE first. Some or other in Orissa go on strike everyday, but are rarely invited by CM for a meeting. Govt wants UCE to grow, he said. It seemed so.
How much of the committments shall be kept is to be seen. But, I believe Govt can not go back what they said so emphatically. one thing is sure, we have succeeded to move the wheel. It should move on from now. But, we cannot and will not rest before UCE is indeed conferred "Deemed University" and then an "IIT or IIEST".
One of UCE’s … well-wisher …, Prof Chitta Baral of Arizona University had advised us to demand for "State University" like BESU or Ravenshaw. But, we were cautioned by Industry Secy not to talk of State Univ or IIT in the meeting and we did not. And, rightly so. Thanks to Dr Baral for his passion for UCE.
All the local news papers today have carried the News on front page. It is Chak De UCE, finally.
A proud UCEian.
My Comments:
This is a good start. Congratulations! I am hopeful that with the CM’s efforts UCE will get the "deemed university" tag quickly. But as mentioned above, it is not enough to be a deemed university. Being a deemed university does not guarantee adequate funding. So everyone must be ready to go to the next step; assuring good funding for UCE Burla. Unlike what is reported in Sambada, NIT Rourkela’s funding did not increase because it became a deemed university. It increased because central government took it over. There are many ways to ensure UCE Burla gets adequate funding. One way is to get the "funded by UGC" tag and become eligible to get UGC funds. Another way is to get taken over by the central government and/or become an NIT, IIEST or IIT. Another way is to push the state government and Orissa industries to fund UCE Burla at a higher level. Yet another way is to get commitment from industries such as MCL regarding funding some UCE departments.
Following is extracted from a Pioneer report. The three demands, as reported, were:
Issuance of the clearance for the Society Registration Act. (The clearance of Society Registration Act is needed to accorded deemed university status to the Burla Engineering College.)
Deputation of a team of officials with the chief architect to plan the contemporary infrastructure which the UCE needs and allocation of funds for their construction.
Allotment of 300 acres of adjacent free land to UCE by the district administration which is needed for its expansion and upgradation, before it was encroached.
This article is mostly well argued and has a lot of information regarding recent announcements. My only issue is that it is a bit short-sighted at the end: If Andhra Pradesh can upgrade two of its existing colleges to IIESTs and still get a greenfield IIT, why should Orissa just ask for one upgradation; Orissa should ask for upgradation of UCE Burla to an IIEST and the establishment of a greenfield IIT. Also, just asking for UCE Burla to an upgradation to an IIT is a bit dangerous as the central govt. may say that they are not upgrading any institution to an IIT. If that happens we become double losers. So, Orissa govt should ask that UCE Burla be upgraded to an IIEST and Orissa should get one of the proposed 5 new IITs. Furthermore, as we have argued earlier Orissa govt, should immediately make UCE Burla a state university.
While students of the University College of Engineering (UCE) Burla are on war path to turn the institution as a Deemed University, educationists have suggested the state government to declare it as a State University.
“It is easier for the Government of Orissa to declare UCE Burla as an Engineering and Science University”, suggested an educationist who belongs to Western Orissa.
An alumnus of UCE, Burla has also echoed the view on this line.
“Instead of pleading with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), it is easier for the state government to pass a Bill in this regard in the Orissa Legislative Assembly (OLA)”, said he.
Initially it will cost Rs.1.5 crore per annum at the most, said a Financial Advisor of the state government.
Later the state government by appointing a hyper active Vice Chancellor like Devdas Chhottaray will be able to rope in huge funds from University Grants Commission (UGC).
Mr.Chhottaray, VC of the newly formed Ravenshaw Unitary University (RUU) has been successful to convert the RUU as an UGC aided University in a period of one year.
When the 50 year old institution will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee, it is the right time for the state government to declare it as another State University, said another alumnus.
The UCE, Burla alumni have a major role to play, said a mandarin in the state secretariat.
Most of the alumni are in the top level of the state administration and their influence in this regard will play a major role to transform the institution as a State University of Science and engineering, said he.
While the students are demanding for a Deemed University status they are ignorant about the fact that most of the DUs are not funded by the UGC.
So it is better that at the first place UCE, Burla to be declared as a State University and later a pro-active VC will rope in funds from the UGC.
It may be pointed out that various states have followed this path earlier and have been successful like West Bengal and Kerala.
The Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) and the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) are state universities, and both were selected to become Indian Institute of Education, Science and Technology (IIEST).
“Better late than never, Orissa must take a cue from West Bengal and Kerala”, said Sandip Das Verma, a leading Non Resident Odiya (NRO).
