Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 18:

With the curriculum for technical education currently in vogue in Odisha failing to fetch jobs, students are fast losing interest in engineering courses resulting in a large number of seats falling vacant in engineering colleges. To tide over the problem, the Odisha government is mulling to revamp technical education system in the state. Plans are afoot to prepare a blueprint for the next one decade ahead.

engg college

Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) will organize a brainstorming session next week on the status of current education system and its future and on how more students will be encouraged to study engineering in the state. The session will discuss on new vistas in technical education.

“The session to be participated by chairman All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), chairman National Board of Accreditation (NBA), member secretary Quality Council of India, some industrialists, heads of institutes of technical education, senior officials of BPUT and senior officials of department of technical education will discuss the problems being currently faced. A whitepaper will be also drawn up for the coming decade”, revealed Shyamsundar Patnaik, vice chancellor BPUT.

According to BPUT sources, discussions will be held to bring in change in the technical education system in the state. Possible amendments to the Odisha Technical Education Act 2007 will also be debated at the session.

While earlier, a large number of students from neighbouring states like Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand used to come to study engineering in Odisha, now this is also waning. Thousands if seats are lying vacant in engineering colleges. Under such circumstances, there are plans to scrap the 15% quota for NRIs. From now onwards counseling for admission to courses like engineering, MBA, MCA and M Arch will be held in two phases. At the end of these two rounds, students from outside states will be given opportunity to get admissions in the vacant seats. There will be no restrictions for them.  Whoever has the eligibility will be given an opportunity to take admission.

Moreover, discussions will be also held on how industrialists, who have set up industries in the state, will recruit more and more youth from the state. Syllabi will be designed keeping in mind their needs. BPUT will take steps for maintaining coordination between government and non-government institutions, BPUT sources said.

This apart, proposals will be sent to AICTE to accord autonomous status to colleges having NAAC and NBA accreditation. Discussions will be held with AICTE officials to see to it that there are no difficulties from the  AICTE side in matters of increasing seats, opening of new colleges and new branches, they added.

The brainstorming session to be held on September 21 at Hotel Swosti Premium will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister. The white paper drawn up at the session will be submitted to the Governor and the Chief Minister