By Soudhriti Bhabani, IANS
Kolkata : The much coveted tag of Institute of National Importance (INI) notwithstanding, West Bengal’s oldest Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) is still beset with problems such as student unrest and lack of infrastructure facilities.
According to insiders, the status upgrade will hardly create any difference to the academic activities of the varsity, situated in Kolkata’s twin town Howrah, unless the authorities implement a comprehensive plan for enhancing academic performance.
“It’s true student unrest in BESU is sending a wrong signal to society and above all to the education fraternity. The rich legacy of the institute has been tarnished,” BESU registrar Bhaswati Moitra told IANS.
With the INI status, the oldest engineering college in the state will be upgraded to be known as Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST) from the academic session 2008-09. The university has also become a fully-funded central government institution.
Next on the cards is a grant of Rs.4.5 billion from the ministry for upgrade of the institute.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) in a letter dated Dec 28 to West Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb informed him about the new status to the university.
“We are trying to develop the infrastructure by adding a few academic and residential buildings, canteens and library on the campus. We are also renovating the existing laboratories at the university. The entire upgradation programme will be completed in a few years,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bengal Engineering and Science University Teacher Association (BESUTA) general secretary Partha Chatterjee said despite being one of the premier technical institutes in the country BESU was lagging far behind in terms of infrastructure.
“There is no proper academic system at the institution. The present administration is not competent enough to cope with the situation and thus student unrest is taking place so frequently,” Chatterjee told IANS.
He said over the years the glory of the institute has faded as the authorities have failed to formulate a proper academic policy.
“There is no adequate faculty at the university. Even the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norm, which categorically states the teacher-student ratio of any INI should be 1:2:6 (professor: assistant professor: lecturers), is not followed here because of staff crunch,” he said, adding about 20 faculty positions are lying vacant at the institute and since 1980s no new posts have been sanctioned.
At present there are about 250 faculty members at BESU, including 212 permanent employees.
Five post-graduate courses, including electronic, mechanical and electrical engineering, have still not been approved. There is no comprehensive plan to upgrade the varsity despite the availability of adequate resources, Chatterjee said.
The university was in the news recently after a skirmish between two rival union groups, Students Federation of India (SFI) and Independent Consolidation (IC), which fought with each other on the campus over an alleged attack on senior SFI member Afaz Ahmed by IC members.
The authorities were forced to shut down the university in December last year. The students were asked to vacate the hostels. Several policemen were deployed and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code were enforced in the campus.