On April 08, 2018, the Chief Minister of Odisha, Mr. Naveen Patnaik has requested the central government to intervene in the AICTE approval issue. He urged the centre to direct AICTE to restore approval of two government polytechnic colleges in the state so that they can enrol students from the upcoming academic session. An official letter has been sent to Union HRD Minister, Mr. Prakash Javadekar in this regard.
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The official letter by Odisha CM to MHRD stated that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had cancelled the recognition of two government polytechnic institutes located at Berhampur and Parlakhemundi . AICTE placed these two colleges under ‘No Admission’ category for the academic year 2018-19. AICTE took such harsh decision on the grounds of shortage of regular faculty and non-availability of qualified & experienced principals, the letter stated.
As soon as AICTE cancelled the approval of these colleges, the state government undertook immediate measures to recruit the faculty members. As of now, the state government has engaged a sufficient number of guest faculty for the smooth and sustained curricular activities . The appointment of principals to these colleges has also been made as per the stipulated guidelines.
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CM of Odisha further expressed that the state government made a huge investment in building the campus and other infrastructure. Therefore, cancelling the approval of these colleges under such harsh grounds specified by AICTE is unfair. Therefore, he sought the intervention of central government in this regard.