IIT tag fails to cheer state govt

HYDERABAD: The Centre's decision to upgrade two engineering colleges in the state to IIT level did not bring much cheer to the state government for a variety of reasons.
The Union HRD ministry has recently decided to upgrade seven "well established" engineering colleges across the country to IIT level based on S K Joshi committee's recommendations.
In which, two are from the state: Osmania University College of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad and Andhra University College of Engineering at Visakhapatnam. But officials as well as students have taken this decision with a pinch of salt.
"With the IIT status, hundreds of seats will go to the national pool. This means, students from the state will have to forego these number of seats in two premier engineering colleges for students from all over the country," a senior official in the higher education department said.
For instance, there are 375 seats in Andhra University College of Engineering and 420 seats in Osmania University College of Engineering and Technology. All of them are being filled up with top ranking students from the state based on Eamcet rank and rule of reservation, the official said.
Once these colleges are upgraded to IIT, it would deprive meritorious students from the state to pursue engineering courses in the two premier colleges, a senior professor of the Osmania University said. Against this backdrop, the state government will be more happy if the Centre decides to set up a new IIT in the state.
"We are very happy with the Centre's decision to upgrade two engineering colleges to IIT level. But the government will pursue with the Centre to set up an IIT at Basar of Adilabad district," higher education minister P Venkateswara Rao told The Times of India.
The state has always been in favour of setting up a new IIT in the state since it would give fillip to the state economy. Besides, the move will create hundreds of additional seats for all students across the state, the minister said.
Meanwhile, MPs from the state are planning to approach Union HRD minister Arjun Singh after municipal polls to impress upon him on the need of setting up an IIT in the state, the minister said.