Self-financed engineering colleges in dire straits, 1,000 employees without salary

MOGA: Over 1,000 employees of four self-financed government engineering colleges have been waiting for salaries for a period between two months and 19 months. The administration of these colleges claim their income has dipped with 50% decline in number of admissions.

Officials at these institutes add that fee from students was their only source of earning and admissions had dipped with most students going abroad after schooling in the state.

Over 100 employees of Heera Singh Bhattal Institute of Technology, Lehragaga, are waiting for salaries of 19 months while 450 employees of Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus, Ferozepur, and 250 employees of Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur, have been waiting for salaries for the past four months.

At the Malout Institute of Management and Information Technology (MIMIT), 225 employees are without salary for two months. At least, 3,900 students are admitted at these colleges.

TS Sidhu, director of Shaheed Bhagat Singh State Technical Campus, Ferozepur, said, “Admissions have been on the decline for the past three years and this year, with a dip of 50% this year. We do not have funds to pay salaries and we have requested the state government to help us.”

Dilbag Singh, principal, Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur, said, “Students are going abroad after Class-12, leading to 50% fall in admission at this college. We have asked the government to provide as financial aid to release salaries of employees.”

Dr Sanjiv Sharma, director of MIMIT, “The college has recorded a 30% decline in admission. Salaries of employees have been increased and admission fee has remained the same. Besides, at least Rs 7.5 crore is pending with the state government under the post matric scholarship for Scheduled Caste (SC) students. These are key reasons of our financial crisis.” Dr Vineet Shibe, principal, Heera Singh Bhattal Institute of Technology, Lehragaga, said, “We have released salaries of only two months do not have money.”

Anurag Verma, principal secretary of technical education, said, “We are in the process to release 18 crore to these colleges in an attempt to bail them out from their financial crisis. Colleges have to increase their strength. We have helped these colleges sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IIT Rupnagar, to maintain and upgrade quality of education at their institutes.”