Engg students ‘let down’ by Jharkhand govt

JAMSHEDPUR: The career of 225 students who have cleared the 2002 joint engineering entrance examination appears to be in jeopardy because of the alleged criminal neglect of the Jharkhand government.The students from different parts of the state have hitherto been unable to secure admission in the 17 regional engineering colleges (REC) of the country, despite successfully competing in the state-level test.The reason is said to be the failure of Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competition Examination Board to hold counselling to allocate successful candidates to different RECs, which are ranked after the IITs.The process is yet to start in Jharkhand, even though the admission in RECs all over the country is over.The acting principal of the Adityapur-based Regional Institute of Technology (RIT), Dr A Mishra, confirmed the human resource department of the Union government this month instructed all RECs not to allow admissions any longer. The RECs work under the human resource department.For the students, the better the result, more serious is the trouble. The order effectively seals the fate of 85 students chosen for RECs outside Jharkhand. The first year students of some of the RECs would be taking the first semester exams in December. These 85 students will lose a year, even if admission is granted, RIT teachers said. No college will disturb its academic calendar or run special classes for a handful of students. The fate of 140 students of Jharkhand selected for the RIT, too, hangs in balance. The classes for the first year students start on Tuesday. The students from other states already have jointed the institute.The examination board set up by the government remains oblivious of the grim reality. When contacted at Ranchi on Monday, Shailesh Kumar of the board argued counselling was delayed because the admission process has not been completed. Reminded that the state-level counselling has to be conducted before the admission, Kumar said only the controller Mahabir Prasad could comment on the matter; but refused to give Prasad's telephone numbers.The RIT authorities reportedly sent repeated reminders to the board to complete counselling for the students. It's a case of criminal neglect. The board did not even bother to start the counselling even after the HRD department extended the deadline to September 30, informed sources said.The board apparently delayed counselling because the government's reservation had not been finalised. It failed to act even after the high court gave its ruling on the issue in August. The state cabinet had reworked the new quota for different categories of beneficiaries on September 20.Interestingly, the Jharkhand government's reservation as well as domicile policy cannot be applied on RECs outside the state. The reservation for ST and SC in the RECs has been fixed at 7.5 and 15 per cent respectively. There was no reason for delaying the counselling for the 85 students selected for colleges outside the state.