6 June 2018, 3:35 pm
Limbo of Sikkim Govt Polytechnic: High Court directs AICTE and State for Action?
This article has been preserved from The Voice Of Sikkim historical news collection and reflects information available at the time of its original publication.
Limbo of Sikkim Govt Polytechnic: High Court directs AICTE and State for Action
Gangtok, 06?June :?Trouble water has started brimming up for the state-run polytechnic college located at Bardang East Sikkim named Advanced Technical Training Centre ATTC. ATTC a government polytechnic under the Directorate of Technical Education HRDD Government of?Sikkim ,?ATTC is alleged to have flouted the series of regulations and rules laid by apex All India Council Technical Education AICTE according to Approval Process Handbook APH of AICTE.
It is learnt that said government polytechnic has not maintained and adhered teacher-student ratio mentioned in AICTE APH, also series of anomalies was gathered in an investigation conducted by AICTE investigation team and even the infrastructures was not?upto?the mark in findings.
Having kept identity undisclosed on request, one of ex-student has alleged that even lab instructors are assigned classes to carry theory subjects. If an allegation is true, If the lab instructor is assigned theory classes then that goes against AICTE norm. How come a lab instructor bearing a diploma qualification teach a diploma student ?, as per AICTE BE/BTech or above qualified faculty are only eligible to take theory classes in polytechnic level is understood from APH.
According to the source, the said polytechnic provided concocted and fictitious data to AICTE for maintaining the AICTE approval each year, the matter was investigated after it was challenged through a writ petition in the Sikkim High Court followed by which the team of AICTE had initiated an investigation.
On Tuesday the Sikkim High Court single bench Justice?Dr.?Satish Agnihotri pointed AICTE has ignored the deficiencies related to ATTC in their investigation. The high court giving the last opportunity of 2 weeks time to state and AICTE to take a necessary step as per the law, if found polytechnic is not competent to run with prevailing faculties and infrastructures. ATTC is playing with the life of students without complying with the essential and mandatory requirements of the provision of AICTE Act 1987, also the regulation framed therein.
The high court also questioned over the ineligibility on mandatory qualification ground of the principal of ATTC who is serving in the post past 3 years! who is required to have a PhD Degree mandatory as per AICTE?statute.?High Court in this regard has asked the state to appoint the qualified and competent person.
On the other hand, a question has also started raising on the eligibility of the principal of yet another state-run polytechnic Center for Computers and Communication Technology CCCT located at Chisopani South Sikkim. Both the polytechnics are under HRDD?Dept ,?Govt of Sikkim established successively under World Bank Project.
In the past cases of action by AICTE against such institutes having deviated from the regulations of AICTE faced disapproval as well as de-affiliation, it is realised that if the same follows then thousand of student's life would be in stake