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IIT-Kharagpur Adds 200 Seats But State Still Faces Crunch

The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Board has cleared the decks for 20,000 new engineers in round one of the JEE results, but the State’s total seat capacity is only 13,000. This is bound to create a seat crunch during the admissions this year.

While the demand for engineering education has grown steadily every year, the government has pulled the brakes on the number of new engineering colleges in the last few years. Moreover, although IIT-Kharagpur has increased the number of seats — from 600 to 800, none of the city’s top engineering colleges — Jadavpur University, Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur (BESU) — have not followed suit.

The main reason why the state’s top engineering institutions are not increasing their student intake is the paucity of funds and lack of infrastructure.

‘‘If BESU and Jadavpur were given IIT status, we would at least get Rs 100 crore every year. That has not yet happened. Also, we need to upgrade infrastructure before we can admit more students,’’ said Prof N R Banerjea, Chairman of the West Bengal JEE Board and Vice-Chancellor of BESU.

IIT-Kharagpur, however, is making an exception by adding 200 more seats this year. The institute’s director, Prof S K Dube, said the increase is a routine affair.

‘‘Every year, all the IITs increase seats by about 10 per cent. The craze for securing admission in an IIT is growing every year. Funds are not that much of a problem for us since we are wholly funded by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development,’’ said Dube. IIT-Kharagpur is where most of the JEE toppers are headed.

But what happens to the 7,000-odd extra students who cleared the JEE but will not be able to find a ticket to an engineering college in West Bengal?

‘‘The scenario may not be so bleak. Students who cannot find an engineering stream of their choice at JU or BESU will opt for some of the better private colleges. If that option is also closed, they will opt for B.Sc. Honours in a top-grade college. Also, many students leave the state to pursue engineering degrees or professional courses in other states. Many students also re-locate to other metros at this point,’’ said Prof Manoj Kumar Mitra, Dean of Engineering, Jadavpur University.

As for the state government, it is going slow after an expansion spree of engineering education in the last decade. ‘‘In 1996, we had only 2,500 seats. Now, we have 13,000. That is a phenomenal growth by all standards. Now, private capital is required to build quality engineering colleges. But we will be choosy in granting permission,’’ said sources in the higher education department.

Source : http://cities.expressindia.com/

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