Technical Education Dept to seek choices from colleges for affiliation

Deepkamal Kaur

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 31

Even as earlier it was being proposed by the Congress that Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University (MRSPTU), Bathinda, be converted into a faculty development or research-oriented campus, Punjab Minister for Technical Education Charanjit Singh Channi now has a change in plan.

The minister, who was here yesterday, said it was now being planned that the engineering, management and pharmacy colleges, which are currently affiliated to the MRSPTU, be asked to give their choice as to which way they want to go. “A file has been moved on this line and if it gets through, we will start the process to take choices from the colleges on whether they want to continue with MRSPTU or they want to return to the IK Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar,” he said during an interaction with The Tribune.

It is learned that the Congress government had actually erred by making a direct announcement of changing the profile of the Bathinda university, as there have been orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court pertaining to the bifurcation of technical varsities in the state. The orders read, “A choice of a college to affiliate itself with a university ought to be respected. It would have been a much better way to ensure competition between the universities to offer a choice to the colleges to affiliate with either of the universities.”

The territorial limits of MRSPTU falls in the 11 districts of Bathinda, Barnala, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Mansa, Moga, Muktsar, Patiala and Sangrur, while the rest fall under the IKG-PTU. The Bathinda varsity has got a share of 103 colleges, including 41 engineering, 13 pharmacy, 46 management and three of architecture, while the IKG-PTU has got 170 colleges, including 66 engineering, 20 pharmacy, 78 management, four of architecture and two of hotel management.

The colleges are likely to weigh the two options on various aspects, while some favouring MRSPTU could give more weightage to proximity to the varsity campus, and the others going with IKG-PTU could give more significance to the varsity being an old, established one.

Asked about the changed plan of the government, Anshu Kataria, president of Punjab Unaided Colleges Association, and chairman of Aryan Group of Colleges, said, “I welcome this decision of the government”. He, however, did not divulge as to which way he would go.

JS Dhaliwal, president of Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA), however, was very clear. “Being the owner of two colleges – Baba Isher Singh College, Moga, affiliated to MRSPTU and SUS College of Engineering and Technology at Tangori, affiliated to IKG-PTU – I have had both experiences. Given a choice, I will certainly go with IKG-PTU. I am sure that most other colleges will follow me,” he said.