Srinagar NIFT to function from Jodhpur till July

Rifat Mohidin

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 22

With the improvement in the Valley situation, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Srinagar campus, that was shifted to Jodhpur temporarily has no plans to return until July next year, which many believe will affect the growth of the prestigious institution in Kashmir.

A circular issued by NIFT, Jodhpur, on December 15 states that Srinagar NIFT will continue functioning at Jodhpur, but there was no mention about the dates as to when will the institute return to the Valley, which has created confusion among the students and parents.

“Our children opted for the Srinagar campus, not for any other place. We were earlier told that the students will be shifted back in January, but now they are saying they will be studying in Jodhpur till July. This is injustice with our children. Every institute has started working normally now,” said a parent from Srinagar whose daughter studies at NIFT.

The angry parents said the authorities were not letting the big institutions develop in the Valley and unnecessarily extending the functioning of Srinagar NIFT at Jodhpur.

“This is a setback to the development of this big institution in Kashmir. The National Institution of Technology has resumed classes and the Government Medical College is also working. Then what is the issue with this institute?” the parents asked.

Following the turbulence in the Valley after the death of militant commander Burhan Wani, which led to the closure of all institutions for five months, 34 students of NIFT, Srinagar, along with the faculty were shifted to the Jodhpur campus on September 18 to continue the classes for a semester. However, with the improvement in the situation, the authorities seem to have no plan to come to Srinagar campus any soon.

“The classes at Srinagar campus will start from another session commencing in July. This time, we are in the middle of the academic year and the students from the Srinagar campus will continue their studies here till then,” said Director, NIFT-Jodhpur, Vijaya Deshmukh.

The NIFT campus, which was operating from Rangreth Industrial Estate, was sanctioned by the government in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 188 crore. The institution started the four-year undergraduate course in Fashion Design and Fashion Communication in July this year from the temporary campus.

“Earlier they had said that after the completion of the first semester in January, the institute will be shifted back. However, now there is no word about it,” said an official source. “They are planning to continue the second semester. The weather there is too hot in summers and it will create more difficulties for us,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Shailendra Kumar, said they had written to the NIFT authorities to return to Srinagar campus as soon as possible. “We told them to come back here as the situation has improved now,” he added.