Employers showing us the door, give us valid degrees: Students

  • | Wednesday | 22nd August, 2018

The institute offers a six-year integral course in engineering — two years each of a certificate course, a diploma course and a B.Tech course. According to student leader Jajedi, MAKAUT too doesn’t accept the diploma course certificate. Around 30 students are protesting at the Malda institute too. While it was formally inaugurated by then president Pranab Mukherjee four years later, the institute had been admitting students since 2010. However, it had not been affiliated to any university till 2018, leaving its students without the requisite certificates for further studies or employment.

Protesters in front of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata. (Express Photo by Partha Paul) Protesters in front of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata. (Express Photo by Partha Paul) Around 50 students from a central government technical institute in Malda have been on a relay hunger strike in Kolkata since August 10, demanding that they receive valid diplomas and B.Tech certificates. The Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering and Technology (GKCIET), an autonomous Centre-funded institute, was founded in 2010 in Narayanpur. However, it had not been affiliated to any university till 2018, leaving its students without the requisite certificates for further studies or employment. Despite repeated attempts, GKCIET Director Parameswar Rao Alapati and state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee were not available for comment. The institute’s foundation stone was laid by then prime minister Manmohan Singh and then Congress president Sonia Gandhi. While it was formally inaugurated by then president Pranab Mukherjee four years later, the institute had been admitting students since 2010. The institute offers a six-year integral course in engineering — two years each of a certificate course, a diploma course and a B.Tech course. Admissions were based on an entrance test. More than 800 students graduated in 2016 and 2017. However, they did not receive their certificates due to the lack of affiliation. Responding to students’ concerns, the state government had in 2016 tasked the West Bengal State Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Skill Development to grant legitimacy to GKCIET and provide the certificates and diploma degrees. In May this year, the state government affiliated the institute to the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) to confer the B.Tech degree certificate. However, MAKAUT has decided to provide certificates only to students who joined in the new academic year and not those who have already completed their course, putting those who have graduated in a predicament. “Where will these 800 students go? How will they get jobs if they don’t get proper certificates? We have launched a protest in Malda and Kolkata to demand that proper certificates be issued to us and those who have completed the diploma course be admitted to the BTech course through a lateral entry,” said Sahin Jajedi, a final year mechanical engineering diploma student and leader of GKCIET Students’ Unity (GSU). The institute’s six-year model too has come under attack. “The GKCIET diploma certificate is that of a two-year course. However, other institutes require a three-year diploma certificate. Subsequently, we are not getting admission in B.Tech courses in other institutes either. The institute must either issue a three year diploma certificate or allow us a lateral entry to study B.Tech there,” said Mohammad Hasanuzzaman, a student since 2014. According to student leader Jajedi, MAKAUT too doesn’t accept the diploma course certificate. “Many students’ employers had shown them the door for not being able to produce proper certification,” Jahedi said, adding they had approached the state government and the Governor for relief, but had not received any response. Around 30 students are protesting at the Malda institute too. “If everything fails, we will launch an aggressive movement. We will hold a march to Raj Bhawan on August 24 to press our demand,” Jajedi said. GKCIET is the only government-sponsored technology institute in Malda. There is just one other engineering institute, the self-financing IMPS College of Engineering & Technology College. The University of Gour Banga in Malda is known for arts and science subjects. On August 12, CPM MLA Sujan Chakraborty wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to look into the demands of these students. The SFI is also supporting the students. “We have held rallies in Malda and Kolkata supporting them. We are also initiating talks with state and central governments to find a solution to their problems,” said SFI state secretary Srijan Bhattacharya. Former Presidency College principal Amal Mukhopadhyay asked the students to move court. “The students were cheated. The best thing for them would be to approach the court and file a writ petition. The high court must order compensation. At the same time, the West Bengal government must come forward to help them,” Mukhopadhyay said. Start your day the best way with the Express Morning Briefing For all the latest Kolkata News, download Indian Express App

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