Patna, Feb. 3: The Centre will provide Rs 90 crore to seven engineering colleges in Bihar and the Aryabhatta Knowledge University in Patna for infrastructure development and academic improvement.

The Union government, as part of phase III of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme, will grant Rs 10 crore each to seven engineering colleges and Rs 20 crore to the varsity, according to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Vinay Sheel Oberoi S, secretary, Union human resource development ministry, and state science and technology director (technical) Atul Sinha in New Delhi yesterday.

The seven engineering colleges are Loknayak Jai Prakash Institute of Technology (Chhapra), Bihar College of Engineering (Bhagalpur), the Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, and the government engineering colleges at Motihari, Darbhanga, Gaya and Chandi.

The funds will be used for infrastructure development such as strengthening lab facilities, installations of modern equipment, and for teacher training.

The state engineering colleges are badly lacking in proper infrastructure as well as teachers.

To fill up vacant posts the Bihar Public Service Commission's long-delayed recruitment process of 407 assistant professors has managed to hire only six persons, according to sources in the know.

"Due to shortage of modern equipment, practical and research work is hampered," said Anil Kumar, a third year mechanical engineering student at Gaya College of Engineering.