THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed all universities to upgrade to global standards, many institutions under the Kerala University (KU) continue to reel under crisis.
The University Institute of Technology (UIT) centres, which aimed to train students from rural areas in professional courses, have struggled due to poor infrastructure since its inception 23 years ago. Of the 29 centres in the state, only a few operate on their own campuses while the remaining function from rented buildings with scant facilities. KU’s decision to launch more UIT centres within five to six kilometres compounded the problem.
In Neyyattinkara taluk alone, there are four UIT centres. In addition to the Neyyattinkara centre established in 1995, KU recently started centres at Kanjiramkulam, Parassala and Vellarada. Though the university started new postgraduate courses in some centres, many of them do not even have sufficient students. “The Neyyattinkara centre is one of the oldest UIT centres in the state and continues to function in a rented building,” said the parent of a student who wished to remain anonymous.
“Classrooms operate in an auditorium and are separated by partially completed walls. These are more like cattle sheds. Similarly, the computer lab for BSc Computer Science doesn’t have air-conditioned facilities. It’s not an isolated case. Many UIT centres don’t have such facilities and some of them operate from facilities attached to government schools.” As per top UIT officers, funds for the sustenance of the centres were granted by KU from the special fund through government treasuries. Salary, along with water and electricity charges, is being paid through these funds.
Interestingly, these are self-financing institutions where students pay a fee of around Rs 24,000 per year for BSc courses in Electronics and Computer Science and for the BBA course. These are but major sources of income for the university chronically plagued by financial stringency.
According to R Lathadevi, University Syndicate member (Planning and Development), the upgradation of UITs is under the serious consideration of the university. “Efforts are being taken to make the institutions self-sufficient. Since all these institutions come under the category of self-financing colleges, we are in talks with elected representatives of the region where the centre is located. I will present this issue in the next syndicate meeting,” said Lathadevi.
Teachers too left in the lurch
The plight of teachers working in these institutions is another issue. Most of them are highly qualified and took up the job hoping their services, sooner or later, would be regularised. Even the University Syndicate had given them the hope that their services would be regularised.