'Dispur neglecting Jorhat Technology institute to favour Kaziranga Varsity'

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

JORHAT, March 20:  Controversy spilled over here after a section of conscious citizen slammed the State Government for neglecting the Jorhat Institute of Science & Technology (JIST), the lone technology institute in upper Assam, saying that the Government has neglected the institute to serve the business interest of Kaziranga University, a private university located at Jorhat, where MP Gaurav Gogoi, son of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, has a stake.

“The Government has neglected the institute to serve the business interest of Kaziranga University. If the quality of the university goes down, Kaziranga University will get more students which will in turn benefit Gaurav Gogoi, as he has investment in the university,” said advocate Rintu Goswami in a press meet at Jorhat press club here on Thursday. Established in 1971, JIST, which was formerly known as Science College, Jorhat, is  the third under graduate govt. engineering college in Assam and is a premier technical institute of the entire country.   In 2009 , Government formed a magement committee of the institute with the State Chief Secretary as Chairman and the Additiol Chief Secretary (Education ),  Additiol Chief Secretary (Fince), the Director of Technical Education and the Principal of the Institute as its member.

Goswami said that as per rule, the magement committee of the institute should held meeting of the maging body three times in a year but in 2014 , the committee held only one meeting.  He alleged that the Government has stopped sanctioning grant to the institute of technology right after the establishment of Kaziranga University in 2010.

Goswami further alleged that the State Government in a meeting held on December 9, 2013 under the chair of the Chief Secretary decided not include further technical department in the institute and decided to take forward the institute as science institute only.