New Delhi: Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said GB Pant Engineering College — affiliated to the state-run Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (IP University) until now — will not enrol students this year, and announced that it will soon be a part of the upcoming Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University with better courses and infrastructure.
Sisodia’s comments came in the backdrop of protests by students, demanding a clarification after IP University removed the state-run college’s name from the list of its affiliated institutes and stopped admissions this year.
“This confusion is being unnecessarily spread. Instead of it being a normal college under IP University, the government plans to bring it under the upcoming Skill and Entrepreneurship University and develop it as a better institute. We plan reforms in the courses it offers while maintaining the prestige of the institute, Sisodia said.
“The government is investing Rs 526 crore in the construction of the new college building and if we are investing so much, we will expect more students to get benefited from it. Presently, the intake of the college is very low. I assure everyone that it won’t make any difference to the students studying there if the college remains under the IP University or the Skill and Entrepreneurship University,” Sisodia said.
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Delhi government had last year announced a Skill and Entrepreneurship University in the national capital. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had last month announced that the university is likely to start its first academic session from next year.
Asked if GB Pant college located in Okhla phase 3 — which offers three BTech courses (computer, mechanical and electronic) and caters around 600 students (excluding first-year students) — will take admissions this year, Sisodia said, “This year the Skill and Entrepreneurship University will work on reforming and designing the new courses. This year, there will be no admission (in GB Pant as well). Meanwhile, we have increased 1,330 seats this year in IP University.”
The government has last week announced an increase in the number of higher education seats at IP University, including B Tech courses.
GB Pant principal OP Verma did not wish to comment. A senior official at the college said, “We do not know when the university will be established. The admission process in the college cannot be stalled till then.”
IP University vice-chancellor Mahesh Verma said existing students will continue with the university and will get degrees from it.
Earlier in the day, a group of around 100-150 students, led by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), held a protest outside Sisodia’s residence in Mathura Road, seeking a clarification.
A final-year BTech student, requesting anonymity, said, “The government cannot stop taking admission in a college abruptly. What are our chances of higher education now? We will not be able to take admissions in good colleges since everyone will acknowledge us as an alumnus of a college that has been shut down.”
Siddhartha Yadav, state secretary, ABVP Delhi, said, “We will continue our protest and may even give a call for a hunger strike if the government does not take its decision back.”
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