Bhubaneswar, Dec. 15: Cutting across party lines, Assembly members today expressed concern over the closure of the State Institute of Educational Technology.

The members said it was unfortunate to close down the institute, which had been set up to produce quality educational programmes for school students to be transmitted through multi-media, when the government was promoting information communication technology.

Congress member Anshuman Mohanty sought to know whether the Centre had issued any order to close down the institute for which its was providing 100 per cent grant and whether there was any cabinet approval to this effect.

School and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra said the institute was closed in 2013 after the Centre had expressed its inability to give salary to the employees. "There was no need to take the cabinet approval for its closure."

Mishra said the state government was prompted to close down the institute as it failed to generate its own resources and produce the required number of programmes. "There was a target to produce 1,000 programmes a year," he said.

The minister said the dues of the staff members were cleared from the state budget up to March 31, 2013, and the employees who had been brought on deputation from the state government were absorbed. Out of the total sanctioned strength, 87 employees were working. Of them, 63 had come on deputation, he said.

The institute had been functioning as a technical cell under the state education and youth services department in 1982-83, which was turned into a directorate in 1986 and got the autonomous status in 1990. Later, it was made a full-fledged institute. However, its end came after the Centre stopped giving funds.

The Telegraph had also published two reports in 2013 on the institute, which was facing closure.