Punjab: Year on, no regular VC at three technical universities

Officiating Vice-Chancellors (VCs) are running the affairs at three of the four technical universities in the state for over a year now.

IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (PTU), Kapurthala, has a regular VC, while the other three — Maharaja Ranjit Singh PTU, Bathinda, Sardar Beant Singh State University, Gurdaspur and Shaheed Bhagat Singh State University, Ferozepur — have officiating VCs.

Susheel Mittal, the VC of IK Gujral PTU, holds the additional charge of the Gurdaspur and Ferozepur technical universities. Sandeep Kansal, Dean, Faculty, of Maharaja Ranjit Singh PTU, Bathinda, was given the officiating charge of the VC of the university on July 31 last year.

Over a month ago, a search-cum-selection committee headed by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha had interviewed 46 candidates for the post of VC of the Bathinda PTU. While the Chief Secretary was not available for comments, Education Minister Harjot Bains said he would revert after verifying the facts. Sources said a sub-committee of senior bureaucrats had shortlisted the candidates before the search committee interviewed the candidates. Not only the Bathinda PTU, the government is yet to decide on the name of the VC of the Gurdaspur and Ferozepur universities.

After Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave his approval to the appointment of regular VC of the Gurdaspur and Ferozepur technical universities in November last year, the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training had invited applications for the posts, but nothing has happened after that. Officials claimed that the processing of applications for these two universities was delayed as the Principal Secretary, Technical Education, Vivek Partap Sigh, was transferred as Principal Secretary to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria.