Engg colleges up ante over Anna university norms

[dhilipkumar]

Chennai: Managements of a section of the self-financing engineering colleges in western Tamil Nadu resenting certain mandates of the Anna University (Coimbatore) have formed the Association of Management of Coimbatore Anna University Affiliated Colleges (AMAC) to plead their case.
    The university has directed its 103 affiliated colleges to invest in infrastructure to put in place an examination management system to conduct online examination and evaluation. "The university has directed colleges to get Internet broadband connection along with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) from the RailTel Corporation. New colleges have to pay Rs 1.5 lakh for a 2 Mbps internet and VPN connection, besides investing Rs 6.5 lakh towards annual recurring charges. Old colleges must pay Rs 2.25 lakh as a onetime charge and Rs 7.75 lakh annually. But many institutions already have internet connection from other service providers," said an office bearer of the AMAC. "The BSNL has offered the same 2 Mbps connection with VPN for just Rs 2 lakh," he claimed.
    The university has written to the All India Council for Technical Education informing that new institutions without 2 Mbps internet and VPN facility will not be granted affiliation. "The message is clear. If we don't shift to RailTel we will be penalised. Institutions will only be forced to pass on this financial burden to the students," he said.
    Likewise, the university has outsourced to a private company — which conducts Cambridge examination — the imparting of communication and soft skills to students. "Why should a government university outsource such things, which can be delivered by its own faculty? We were earlier affiliated to the Bharathiar University and the Anna University (Chennai) when authorities mandated basic requirements and infrastructure but never asked us to get them executed from one source. Now the student has to pay for learning soft skills in addition to the tuition fees," said a college owner.
    However, vice-chancellor R Radhakrishnan dismissed the opposition as an attempt to stonewall transparency in examinations and implementation of technology. "All decisions are being implemented with the approval of the university syndicate and higher education ministry. We awarded the contract to RailTel only after calling a tender. The BSNL is now offering a lower price. How can I negotiate with them after the tender has been awarded? " asked Radhakrishnan.
    "I know of colleges which collect several lakh rupees as fines from students. Once the VPN is in place, the colleges cannot fiddle with hall tickets, internal marks and attendance. That's why they are opposing this. The colleges are free to choose their own VPN service provider, but they must take up the expense of linking it to the university campus," he said.