Southern States - Kerala

Technical education poised for a leap

By Our Staff Reporter

KOZHIKODE JUNE 28. The elevation of the Calicut Regional Engineering College (CREC) to National Institute of Technology (NIT) would be a boon for the technical education sector in the State. This would help the State take a leap in the quality of higher technical education in the days to come.

It was exactly a year-and-a-half ago that a high-level delegation from the World Bank had visited the CREC to inspect the college and hold discussions with an Indian delegation on the perspective plan for creating Centres of Excellence in Technical Education in the country. The delegation visited the REC on January 10 and 11, 2001.

According to the National Core Group, headed by the former Delhi IIT Director, V.S. Raju, which submitted its report on the project to the Central Government, the quality of higher technical education in the country could be raised by developing a certain number of institutions in the country as world-class institutions capable of giving leadership in technical education. The core group sought an assistance of Rs. 10,000 crores from the World Bank for implementing the project.

Announcing the visit of the WB team to the CREC at a press conference here on January 8, 2001, the college principal, M.P. Chandrasekharan (who was also the convener the core group), had said the transformation of the CREC into NIT would ensure it international standards in technical education along the lines of the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs).

Established in 1961 as a joint venture of the Union and the State Governments, the CREC is considered one of the most eligible institutions for taking up new leadership in technical education. It is not surprising that the WB team did ratify the claims of the CREC to put it among the 10 NITs announced by the Union Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, in New Delhi yesterday.

According to the project proposal submitted by the CREC in November 2000, the main features of the transformation into NITs included Deemed University status, Independent Board of Governors and autonomy in academic, administrative, managerial and financial aspects. Besides upgrading the quality of faculty and all sorts of infrastructure facilities on the campus, the project also envisages interaction with industry, networking with IITs and other institutes, alumni interaction, continuing education and Entrepreneurship Development Programmes. Last but not least, a Virtual Institute of Technology (VIT), that can train a large number of professionals without having a large investment in physical terms, also forms part of an NIT envisaged by the CREC. The VIT would play the role of a lead institute with possible collaboration with other institutes like IIM-Kozhikode and CEDTI. Interactive classrooms, franchisee centre and networking are the other important features of theVIT.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Bid to tarnish my Govt's image: Antony
• HC directive on endosulfan
• Technical education poised for a leap
• Burglaries on the rise in Kozhikode
• Study sheds light on life of elders
• New strides in event marketing
• Muslim law board decisions resented
• Question papers: HC appoints panel
• CB move to arrest Surya TV reporter

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu