Proposal to grant IIT status to Andhra University Engineering College revived

Once cleared by the State government the proposal would also have to be taken up by a committee of Council of IITs, say sources

City-based Andhra University College of Engineering & Technology (AUCoET) may get Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) status if all goes according to the latest plans of authorities concerned, including Andhra University, AP State government and Union Ministry of Education.

If this happens, AUCoET will be either called IIT-Vizag or IIT-Visakhapatnam. It will be the second IIT in Andhra Pradesh after IIT-Tirupati and the 24th IIT in the country.

In fact, the proposal was made by the then Union government in 2005, based on the recommendations of the SK Joshi Committee, which suggested upgrading seven ‘well-established’ engineering colleges across the country to IIT level. After that, Osmania University College of Engineering was also part of the seven listed colleges apart from AU in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. But, it was put on a backburner due to various reasons.

Now, the proposal has come up for discussion with the latest information revealed by a Union Ministry level official during an interaction with the AU management at an internal discussion on AUCoET’s possibility and eligibility for IIT status.

“AU has a history of over 90 years, a sprawling campus in the middle of a cosmopolitan city and it is eligible in all respects as it is now the only big city in the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh. At present students are pursuing engineering courses from 14 branches. Only one thing is that a fresh and serious review of the proposal is required for it to be taken forward. Here, the intervention of the A.P. government is essential,” revealed a reliable source involved in the discussion.

If everything is cleared by the State government, there will be multiple processes where a committee of the Council of IITs will also have to review and assess the suitability of the IIT status.

Hundreds of seats go into the national pool with IIT status. That means, local students have to compete with national-level students to get seats. Students from different States would come to study here. Since Visakhapatnam is already popular among people of different States and cultures for both employment and tourism, and also some premier institutes like Visakhapatnam and Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy exist here, students also show interest to study here.

The IITs are governed by The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which declares them as “Institutions of National Importance” and lays down their powers, functions, and a framework for governance.

IITs offer undergraduate programmes in various branches of engineering and technology. They will have sponsored research. Admission to IITs in various courses is done on the basis of merit in admission tests like Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) for B.Tech courses, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) for M.Tech and Joint Admission Test for M.Sc.

Speaking to The Hindu, AU in-charge Vice-Chancellor G. Sasibhushana Rao said: “Yes, the proposal has been refreshed. The AU already secured ranks above some IITs in the country at various parameters. We are pursuing this with officials at the government-level.”

Published - September 30, 2024 04:42 pm IST