Shillong, March 9: The Opposition today quizzed the Mukul Sangma-led government for "shifting" its assurance from upgrading Shillong Polytechnic into a degree engineering college to establishing a new engineering college.
Leader of Opposition Donkupar Roy raised the issue during Question Hour on the second day of the budget session here and asked if Shillong Polytechnic would be upgraded into an engineering college.
Shillong Polytechnic at Mawlai here is one of the oldest institutes established during the erstwhile state of Assam in 1965. The institute offers three-year diploma courses in civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics and telecommunication engineering, computer science and engineering and a two-year post-diploma course in information technology.
As deputy chief minister (education) R.C. Laloo gave a negative reply, the Opposition members questioned the chief minister, who had assured during the closing ceremony of the year-long golden jubilee celebration of Shillong Polytechnic on February 11 that the institute would be upgraded to a new degree engineering college from this academic year.
"We have decided not to upgrade Shillong Polytechnic but propose to set up a separate professional college of engineering as the polytechnic institute has to continue with the diploma courses. We have applied for affiliation from the North Eastern Hill University and will review the matter with the the All India Council for Technical Education for its approval," Laloo told the House.
Roy, however, asked the chief minister to reply since he had given the assurance.
The chief minister claimed that he had only said a degree engineering college would be established.
Mawlai MLA Embhahalang Syiemlieh asserted that he was present at the function where the chief minister announced that Shillong Polytechnic would be upgraded.
"Officials from the education department also informed me that the degree college will commence from this academic year," Syiemlieh said, while questioning the government for making such "false assurance".
As the Opposition continued to raise queries on the issue, Laloo told the House that a committee, related to establishing a new engineering college, had been constituted. The committee had also recommended that the degree college that would be set up within Shillong Polytechnic's campus should start with three disciplines - civil, electrical and computer science engineering, he added.
Laloo said construction of the new degree engineering college at Shillong Polytechnic would be funded under the Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyan (Rusa).
Rusa is a centrally-sponsored scheme for development of higher education, initiated by Union ministry of human resource development. The scheme aims at providing strategic funding to higher educational institutions across the country.
The Rusa project approval board, during a meet on February 2, had already approved a fund of Rs 26 crore to set up the degree engineering college within the campus of Shillong Polytechnic, Laloo added.
