AIZAWL:Despite assurances from officials, students of Mizoram NIT are still worried over the ‘unpreparedness’ of the institute.
”NIT is one of the country’s premier institutes. Mizoram is fortunate to have its own NIT campus. But the way the officials of the state higher and technical education department are handling things, the reputation of the institute would be damaged,” representatives of Mizoram NIT said at a press conference hereon Wednesday.
The students were accompanied by their parents in today’s press conference, which came a few days after the NIT officials had a brief meeting with the local journalists where they gave an assurance that ‘everything was in place’ and classes could commence from July 20.
Rubbishing the officials’ claims, the students maintained that the institute was being shifted from Nagpur to Aizawl in a hasty manner without keeping in place the basic requirements such as buildings and laboratories.
”Administrative block and laboratories have been temporarily set up in rented buildings with an adequate space at Chaltlang whereas a hostel has been arranged at Mizoram University campus, about an hour’s drive from Chaltlang,” the students said.
The faculty is yet to be recruited too, an advertisement issued in this regard informed.
Students said the no.10 condition on faculty recruitment policy roster, which says if no suitable candidate is found for the post of professor or associate professor, the post shall be converted into associate professor or assistant professor of the same discipline and amounts to compromising the standard of the institute.
Students said there is nothing in the proposed classrooms except for a few blackboards and tables in the rented buildings.
Some 15 laboratories are yet to be set up and there would be no time for establishment of a mechanical engineering workshop either.
Meagre fund cause of bad roads: The state public works department cited fund constraint as the prime cause behind poor road conditions in Mizoram.
“Fund for maintenance of roads, which is allocated from the state plan fund, is too meagre. That is the major cause that explains why the roads are in poor conditions here in the state,” Liansanga, engineer-in-chief of works department, said at a press conference here today.
Liansang pointed out clarifications were required amidst mounting complaints regarding poor road conditions in almost every part of the state and added it was PWD that bore the blame.
Of the 6338 kilometres of road in Mizoram, 4732 kilometres accounted for state road maintenance of which required Rs 159 crore per year as per the ministry of road transport and highway norms.
Against this requirement, only a meagre Rs 5.77 crore were allocated during 2010-11 fiscal, the department head said.
The actual amount sanctioned by the Finance Commission for state road maintenance during 2010-2011 fiscal was Rs 32.56 crore. After diverting Rs 26.79 crores for other purposes, the state government released only Rs 5.77 crore to the PWD for road maintenance.
Moreover, the department had to spend Rs 1.02 crore for the salaries. (UNI)