THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, July 26: There is a storm in a teacup of the Nilamber Pitamber University (NPU). The 100-plus days of the Vice Chancellor, Dr Prof Dinesh Kumar Singh, has been eventful.
There have been major rejigs of teachers and staff. Permanent affiliated colleges have been made more accountable. Water and electricity facilities have been padded up. A go-ahead for PhD registration recently has caused more sparks than expected, the matter being sent to the PMO. Letters are being sent to higher police officers to disengage the 10 Bn of the IRB from the buildings and grounds of the GLA College, which was never done here when there was a CRPF battalion stationed here.
However, an unfazed Vice Chancellor, Dr Prof Dinesh Kumar Singh, is of the opinion that the university is trying to make a headway and that may be upsetting the applecart of the vested interests, which in the past 15 or 16 years of the existence of this university, left the university to its own fate to languish.
VC in conversation with this correspondent on Saturday said, “I want journalists to perform their professional duties in the entirety of the purity and sanctity of the profession without allowing any external element or force to influence their write-ups.”
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Procurement Row and Push for Digital Classrooms
He said the journalists are welcome if they take pains for cross verifying the information with the university PRO or concerned officer, as any misplaced information dents the image and reputation of the university.
He said in the same vein, “There is a brouhaha over the procurement of the interacting panels, which is a misplaced case of fact as the entire procurement of the interacting panels has been through the e-portal of the government of India.”
Nilamber Pitamber University is set to make its constituent colleges and departments state-of-the-art quality.
Stung by a severe crunch of teaching resources, the university plans to go for digital classroom teaching just to overcome zero teacher departments.
University sources admitted there are at least four or five subjects/ departments where there is no teacher at all for more than six months or so.
To name just one department, it’s English department of the JS College in Daltonganj has been without any teacher for the last six or seven months.
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Digital Push to Tackle Teacher Shortage
The university has procured a fleet of 20 interacting digital panels through the e-commerce portal Gem, a wing of the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Government of India.
A fund to the tune of rupees 80 lakhs had come to this university way back in 2021-22 for this panel.
The 80 L was for the procurement of only 16 interacting digital panels.
However, VC of the university, Dr Prof Dinesh Kumar Singh, told this correspondent on Saturday, “We had 80 L lying unspent for all these years since 2021. Again, it was for the procurement of only 16 interacting digital panels.”
“I went for 20 interacting digital panels instead of 16 without any compromise with the size, frequency and configuration of the panels for the same 80 L fund lying with us”, the VC reiterated.
He said, “I am shocked that canards are now being spread over the procurement. I repeat that the procurements are of the e-commerce portal Gem of the Government of India.”
He said, “There are people who talk about GST little knowing that deduction of GST is a financial issue which the procured and the seller deal with properly.”
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WiFi Infrastructure in the Works
Asked that this digital panel will be functional only when the campus has a WiFi network, to which the VC said, ” We are in touch with the state Higher Education Department for selection of the telecom company.”
He said, “There is BSNL and Airtel. We will seek the directive of the Higher Education Department of the two as to which one to choose to set up a WiFi network on the campus.”
The Nilamber Pitamber University’s destiny is that it remains in the news very rarely for good reasons, as now it is trying to brace for the upcoming Convocation ceremony and fingers are going up with numerous gossips.
