Students plead, protect Kamala Nehru polytech
Exhibition Society cites money crunch, to convert it to BE college
An attempt is on to privatise the government-aided Kamala Nehru Polytechnic College for Women, which was the first such college in India and the third in Asia, representatives of the students joint action committee (JAC) have said.
From this academic year, the college will be offering only self-financed courses. Only four out of eight courses are on offer now and the rest have been disbanded.
Some 30,000 women technicians had graduated from this college ever since its inception in 1961. The institute is run by the Exhibition Society.
Four acres of land had been allotted for the college by the then state government which also funded the construction of the buildings and other infrastructure.
According to the JAC, the Exhibition Society cited financial constraints in relation to offering aided polytechnic courses. Meanwhile, it has obtained NOC from the State Board of Technical Education and Training to start a private engineering college on the same land and infrastructure.
When the students and the alumni approached the management, they were told: “The government has stopped paying salaries for the contract employees, which was of `60 lakh. The society is not in a position to bear the resultant financial burden. Hence we have closed the self-finance courses this year.”
The JAC does not see merit in this argument. “The annual All India Industrial Exhibition (Numaish) takes place on the college campus. From this, the society earns `10 crore to `12 crore annually. The society will need to use only this money for the normal functioning of the college.”
According to Varsha Bhargavi, supporting the student JAC view, “Girls from the marginalized families are getting technical education after Class X through this polytechnic. What the college offered were job oriented courses. Such students cannot afford to go for Engineering after Plus 2. Now, a malicious attempt is being made by the management even as its land and infrastructure were given to it by the government.”
Swathi Maniputri, alumni, said: “We have evidence to show that the Exhibition Society has written to the SBTET seeking nod to close all the existing aided courses and convert the college into an engineering college. When we raised this matter with the management, it replied that it was difficult for the society to afford a payment of Rs60 lakh to the contract staff.
Faculty of this college speaking on condition of anonymity said, “The alumni are supporting this protest by the students. We all are requesting the management to continue with the existing aided courses and protect the college in the present form. It has been catering to the education needs of the marginalized sections of the society.”
Khalida Parveen, a former student of the 1976 and 77 batch, said, “We were shocked when we came to know of this plan. This is an important college run by the Exhibition Society. The courses here are affordable to the marginalized sections. This college has a hostel and the girls feel secure here.”