The Biju Patnaik University of Technology in Rourkela

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 11: The technical education department has threatened the Biju Patnaik University of Technology to stop grants if the varsity did not complete its academic audit by the end of November.

In September 2012, the university was asked to conduct an academic audit for all its 180 affiliating colleges and display the results on its website.

The purpose of the exercise was to ascertain whether the institutes concerned had the requisite infrastructure and faculty according to the All India Council for Technical Education norms.

This information was supposed to be uploaded on the university website to help students select the institutes.

However, even after two years passed by, the university is yet to start any effort in this line. With admission season round the corner, students and parents continue to be confused by the claims made by various colleges.

Worried over falling academic standards of the engineering colleges, the department of employment, technical education and training has horsewhipped the university to immediately form 50 committees and start the academic audit of institutes without delay.

Each committee will have three senior faculty members, and efforts will be made to complete the process as soon as possible.

“We have asked the varsity to complete the audit and upload the factual position of the college on the website by the end of November,” said a senior official of the department.

Besides, helping students and parents, the audit can also be referred for any increase in intake and introduction of new disciplines, said the official.

“We are trying to take help of teachers and educators from various institutes for the audit, and an expert committee would evaluate the academic and educational infrastructure,” a varsity official said.

The varsity has also been asked to complete automation of the examination management system and devise a policy for conducting the semester examination in a fair and transparent manner.

The university has been at the receiving end for the way in which the semester examinations are conducted. The delay in publication of results is a major cause of frustration among the engineering students.

The varsity director of examination has been asked to formulate the policy work on how to conduct the exams in a fair manner.

This apart, the university was also asked to expedite the process of getting accreditation grants from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council or the National Board of Accreditation.

The employment, technical education and training department has also allowed the university to recruit retired professionals to fill up the vacant positions in its various sections.