Engineering Colleges-ASTU imbroglio
OUR STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Nov 27: In a significant development to the vexed registration issue of engineering colleges of the State, the Gauhati High Court today delivered a stay order for the 2017-18 session on the State government’s move to bring government-run as well as private engineering colleges under one banner, thus bringing respite to hundreds of engineering students across the State. All the petitioners are students of different semesters in the five government engineering colleges of Assam. The online registration of the first semester BE students during the mentioned period will also now be opened by respective authorities. Moreover, a new examition date for the first semester BE students would be announced shortly by the authorities concerned,
Earlier, the Government of Assam vide gazette notification dated April 25, 2011, had amended the Assam Science and Technology University (ASTU) Act, 2009. This Act was ected with a view to bring government and private engineering colleges in the State under a single banner. However, Dispur’s move was opposed by students and teachers of government engineering colleges under Gauhati University (GU) and Dibrugarh University (DU). The petitioners expressed the apprehension that change of affiliation from GU and DU to ASTU could pose serious threat to the careers of students of government engineering colleges.
The government vide the impugned letter dated February 28, 2017 bearing No. ATE.19/2017/4 and impugned letter dated May 20, 2017 bearing No. ATE.19/2017/7 issued by the Joint Secretary to the Government of Assam, Higher Education (Technical) Department to the Director of Technical Education, Assam, Kahilipara, Guwahati, had asked him to instruct the Principals of AEC and JEC to apply for affiliation to ASTU.
Thereafter, the Registrar, ASTU, on August 29, 2017 issued a letter to the Principals of AEC, JEC, JIST and BBEC requesting them to complete the process of affiliation under ASTU for the session 2017-18. On the other hand, the Registrar, GU, issued letter bearing reference no: AFF/2017/6206-11 on November 2, 2017, to the Principals of AEC and JEC stating therein that the registration of first semester students of AEC and JEC for the sessions 2017-18 was stopped with immediate effect. Therefore, the online registration of the first semester students of AEC was stopped midway, while DU was, till the filing of the petition, still to open the online registration of their students.
In yet another twist to the entire case, the routine for the first semester BE examition of AEC was declared and the examition was stated to commence from November 29. Against that background, the petitioners pleaded that if the online registration of the first semester students was not opened forthwith, they would not be able to appear in the examition.