CET: Top-class national tech instt a distant dream?

Bhubaneswar, Nov 8: The Odisha government’s initiative to transform the College of Engineering and Technology (CET)  into the Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR) at par with IITs, IIM, NIT-like top-class institutions of the country is crawling towards reality after over one year. On July 18,2021, the state government announced the transformation of the CET into OUTR within three years. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved a master plan earlier this year with an investment budget of Rs 1,500 crore. According to the master plan, at least Rs 1,000 crore was to be spent on infrastructure development in the first year itself. However, no significant development has been made after six months of the announcement of the budgetary allocation. The state government had announced to enhance the strength of the OUTR to 10,000 in the next five years from the existing students’ intake capacity of 4,600. The master plan included the construction of an auditorium at Rs 100 crore, a modern library at Rs 50 crore, research staff quarters at Rs 25 crore, and two boys’ and a women’s hostel at Rs 75 crore. Besides, an academic block, staff quarters, an advanced learning center, smart classrooms, a health center, and many more developmental works were included in the plan. However, no significant infrastructure development work has been initiated except for the construction work of the auditorium. Similarly, the vice-chancellor and registrar posts are yet to be filled up and just 90 faculty members are teaching against its 186 approved regular strength of 186 posts. Out of 96 non-teaching posts, around 50 posts have been filled up