SHILLONG: The National Institute of Technology (NIT), Meghalaya, which is currently functioning from its temporary campus at Laitumkhrah, will be shifted to Saitsohpen in Sohra by July 2019.
The Centre has allotted 220 acres and another 110 acres at Saitsohpen. The NIT campus is set to have all the amenities like school, banks, hospitals, stadium, market and guest house.
Speaking to reporters on the permanent campus, new Director of NIT, Meghalaya, Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal on Friday said contractors are ready to hand over a major part of the campus by April 2018 and probably by July 2019 the campus will be shifted to Sohra.
Established in the year 2010, the temporary campus was function since 2012 as the construction works for the permanent campus is underway at Saitsohpen, Sohra. Biswal bemoaned that the present campus lacks space. He said, “We do not have space to keep our equipment. Some of the equipment is kept on the teachers’ desk.”
He expressed that problem will be eased with the shifting to the permanent campus. He informed that the total cost of the project is Rs 800 crore while Rs 175 crore has been spent so far.
Referring to the educational potential in the North east, he said, “The North eastern region has the advantage of tapping good funds from the central government.” On the Institutional Ranking in the country under National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), NIT, Meghalaya is placed in the 16th rank.
To this, Biswal said, “It is a matter of pride for us despite being a new NIT. We have also surpassed some the old NITs.” The Director stated that emphasis will be laid on promoting entrepreneurship to encourage innovative start-ups, skill development, to provide need-based and affordable education in different disciplines. “There has to be awareness on technical education to the people of the region and among the young students in technical education. Camps like Inspire camps will be conducted to reach out to students in school,” he said.
“To make NIT Meghalaya a preferred destination for technological education,” he said. There are 72 faculty members with nine departments-five engineering departments, three science departments (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), and Humanities.
On the other hand, Biswal informed that some of the new departments that will come up in at NIT are Agriculture and Food processing engineering, chemical engineering, mining engineering, geological sciences, Instrumentation engineering.
