Cusat at a crossroads
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With the Kerala Government having made its case for a greater say in the conduct of the affairs of the proposed Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology into which the Cochin University of Science and Technology is to be upgraded, the ball is in the court of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, writes G. KRISHNAKUMAR.
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THE ROAD AHEAD: At the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
A proposal by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to upgrade five universities in the country to Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology (IIESTs) is hanging fire.
The Centre has not received the full consent of the respective State Governments to convert these universities into national entities.
Conditional nod
In a letter sent to the MHRD, the State Government made it clear that it was ready to give conditional nod for upgrading Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat). The West Bengal Government has also not agreed to some of the key recommendations made by an expert committee to convert Bengal Engineering and Science University to an IIEST.
Other universities selected for upgradation include the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University; Andhra University, College of Engineering; and Osmania University College of Engineering and University College of Technology.
The Hindu-Educationplus has reliably learnt that the State Governments seriously differ with the committee's recommendations on governance and representation of students in IIESTs.
The expert committee, headed by former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University M. Anandakrishnan, proposed the establishment of a series of Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology as autonomous institutes of national importance through an Act of Parliament.
Consortium
The President of India will be the visitor of all IIESTs. The five institutions identified by the committee should function as a consortium with an IIEST council, which will be an advisory body for major common policy decisions. The Minister of HRD will be the ex-officio Chairman of the IIEST Council.
As per the recommendations, each IIEST shall have a Board of Governors chaired by an eminent academic/engineer/ scientist/industrialist. The Board of Governors shall be the highest decision-making authority of the institute.
The President will appoint the Chairman of the Board. Each institute will have an executive council and an academic council. The institutes will have an individual Statute providing for other institutional authorities and offices, their responsibilities and power.
Kerala's demand
The Kerala Government suggested that it should have greater participation in the Board of Governors. Going by the present structure of the council in IITs, the number of Government nominees is less than 50 per cent.
For instance, the Board of Governors of IIT Madras consists of 12 members. The Government representatives in the board include Joint Secretary, Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development and the Directors of the Departments of Technical Education in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
In its letter sent to the MHRD, the State Government has proposed 50 per cent participation in the board. The Government also wants a say in the nomination of the Chairman of the board.
A major demand forwarded by the Government was to ensure 70 per cent representation of students in Kerala in the IIEST to be set up here. But this proposal does not seem in consonance with the recommendation made by the expert committee. It suggested that all IIESTs should preserve their all-India character in their student population through national level admission tests, either by adopting the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) system of the IITs or the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).
Dual degree
The consortium of institutions can also develop a joint common entrance test of IIEST for the five-year integrated dual degree programmes as approved by the IIEST council. For admission to two-year postgraduate and Ph.D. programmes, all institutes should prescribe common all-India level tests such as GATE for Indian students.
Admission of foreign students to IIESTs has to be made on the basis of recognised international tests such as the GRE. Each institute will establish two to three major research and development centres of excellence in frontier areas of science and technology based on expert assessments of the available talent, emerging demands and the overall institutional growth pattern.
More discussions
MHRD sources say that more discussions will be held with the Governments before finalising the proposals made by the expert committee. The Centre is likely to offer some incentives to the Governments while trying to get the nod for upgrading the select institutions into IIESTs.
The Ministry suggested the setting up of extension centres of IITs in various States. The State Government has completed first round of discussions for establishing a satellite campus of IIT Madras in Thiruvananthapuram. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal might also get such centres in future.
But MHRD is unlikely to accept the proposal for ensuring regional-level reservation in student population in IIESTs. Senior officials said that majority of the institutions selected for upgradation already exhibit an all-India character in the admission process.
Cusat and Bengal Engineering and Science University are among institutions conducting national-level tests for admitting students to various programmes. For the State Governments, the proposed financial allocation for the IIESTs is a major attraction.
The expert committee has given a budgetary recommendation to the tune of Rs.2, 407.86 crore for the five institutions identified for upgradation into IIESTs during the period 2007-2012. The proposed allocation: Bengal Engineering and Science University (Rs.519.55 crore); Institute of Technology, Banaras University (Rs.545.95 crore); Cochin University of Science and Technology (Rs.518.81 crore); Andhra University, College of Engineering (Rs.408.15 crore); and Osmania University College of Engineering and University College of Technology (Rs.415.40 crore).
A final decision on setting up IIESTs will be taken only after detailed discussions. The State Governments are now eagerly awaiting the MHRD's response to their suggestions.
Path to upgradation
The path to upgradation as suggested by the Dr. Anandakrishnan Committee:
The task of transformation has to begin with the establishment of a governance system compatible with the mission and goals of IIESTs. New statutory provisions would have to be negotiated to move towards the proposed system of governance.
There should be discussions among the faculty and the associated academic bodies to determine the nature of initiatives required on their part. The issues relating to the service conditions of the existing faculty and staff after transformation would require in-depth consideration.
On transformation, IIESTs will require substantially higher levels of funding than what is currently available for further development and growth. The grants available from the State Governments and the UGC will not be sufficient to sustain them as institutes of national importance.
Once the necessary concurrence is obtained, a parliamentary Bill or Ordinance would have to be prepared to declare the institutions as institutes of national importance. A model statute that could be helpful to individual institutions to prepare their own draft statutes, may be provided by the MHRD.
Following the declaration of the statutory status of the five proposed institutions as IIESTs, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal would need to make amendments to the Acts concerning their institutions. The UGC and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) syndicate may make necessary amendments to the BHU Act.
Quality education should be the hallmark of IIEST system. It should be built in the system through internal mechanisms, self-appraisal and self-monitoring. The system should not depend entirely on inspection, assessment and external evaluation to achieve its quality goals.
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