NIT in crisis again as director leaves to join Assam institute
Shonaam Tabri DADA
YUPIA,
Jun 08: The fight of students’ unions to have a regular director for National
Institute of Technology (NIT) here appears to have been in vain with Dr Rajiv
Kumar Garg quitting to join NIT Silchar in Assam on Thursday.
Heeding
the demand of the students, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had
appointed Dr Garg as Director of NIT Yupia five months ago. His departure has
raised many an eyebrow.
In
a statement to the Capital police, Dr Garg said he resigned for personal
reasons. His colleagues and NIT staff said he quit because of family issues and
poor functioning of the institution.
But
the minutes of the 20th meeting of NIT’s Board of Governors (BoG) held at the
AICTE conference room in New Delhi on April 13 said he had received threat
calls, as did the registrar in-charge and other faculty members.
The
minutes also said the threats made it difficult for the institute’s
functionaries to work freely within or outside the NIT campus. There were also
complaints about unknown outsiders entering the campus and trying to assault
teachers and staff or warning of dire consequences.
Most
of the faculty members are from outside the State, and administrative officials
of the institute say it will be difficult to retain them under such
circumstances. “If steps are not taken, NIT will be finished. Even the students
living in rented hostels are feeling unsafe with unauthorised people barging
into the campus and assaulting them,” the minutes said.
Students
from different parts of the country have been temporarily accommodated at Urban
Development Housing complex at Lekhi village as the permanent NIT site is yet
to be completed. Some students are also renting some houses.
The
BoG meeting was attended by AICTE Chairman Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Dr Garg, Under
Secretary (Finance) Department of Higher Education, MHRD, and Registrar
in-charge Dr MK Shome along with other representatives from IIT Guwahati and
some colleges.
“Dr
Garg called me before leaving the State on Thursday. It was a mere formality,”
Dr Shome told The Arunachal Pioneer.
“NIT
is a brand and a director’s resignation does hurt the institution. We come to
teach the students irrespective of state. But it is human nature to resign when
things turn for the worse,” he added.
Dr
Shome said there has been no response yet to an advertisement seeking a new
director for NIT Yupia.
“The
process of admission for the new academic session is on. Without a director, it
will be hard to execute any official work. We will intimate the State
government after the departure of Dr Gard and request for a new director,” he
said.
“We
will be shifting to NIT’s permanent site as soon as the entire infrastructure
is in place,” he added.
All
Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union President Hawa Bagang rued Dr Garg’s
resignation. He said the union has written to Chief Minister Pema Khandu
demanding investigation into reports of corruption in the institution.
“We
have sought a special investigation committee to find out the reason behind the
director’s resignation and corruption within the institution. The State Home
department is dealing with the demand,” he said.
Arunachal
Pradesh Governor Brig (retd) Dr BD Mishra on Wednesday met HRD Minister Prakash
Javadekar at his office in New Delhi, taking up the issue of a regular director
for NIT Yupia.
The
Union minister promised to complete the process of the appointment of a
director.
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