Awaiting upgrade: The Besu campus

The Centre plans to allot more than Rs 700 crore in two Five Year Plans for the upgrade of the Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) to an Institute of National Importance.

Besu will have to use the funds to increase student intake by at least 10,000 according to the detailed blueprint for the upgrade finalised by a central team, Metro has learnt.

The detailed project report specifies that Besu, after its upgrade to an Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), will also have to increase its teacher count by nearly five times.

The university, with current faculty strength of about 270, will have to increase the number of teachers by 1,342 in the five years following the upgrade, states the project report. The increase is necessary so that the student-teacher ratio is better than 12:1, mandatory for an IIEST.

Based on the project report, prepared by a team of human resource development ministry officials and representatives of Besu, the ministry has framed the financial proposal of Rs 735.57 crore for the upgrade, said sources.

The Centre’s expenditure finance committee is likely to consider the proposal soon, added the sources. Once cleared by the committee, the ministry can approach the Cabinet for approval.

The joint finalisation of the detailed project report marks the resolution of differences between the education arm of the government — the ministry — and Besu, which have held up the upgrade process so far, sources said.

“Besu had asked for more land for expansion. We suggested vertical growth instead. They have accepted our suggestion. As far as the ministry is concerned, the Besu upgrade has been cleared,” said a senior official of the ministry.

But the finance ministry, through the expenditure finance committee, may still raise objections to the project proposal finalised on the basis of the project report, said officials.

The proposal before the committee asks for Rs 274.47 crore during the ongoing 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), followed by Rs 461.10 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) for the upgrade.

The ministry had asked for Rs 800 crore for setting up each of the eight new IITs but was allocated only Rs 2,000 crore during the current Plan.

“We fear the finance ministry may object to the funding levels proposed for Besu, which is why we have asked for the funding to be spread over two Plan periods. But given the current global financial crunch, the finance ministry may still object,” said a source.