SURAT: They say engineer has been, and is a maker of history. But does that include studying under a “tin shed”? If you are shocked, so are the students of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Surat, who are being asked to attend classes at their developing campus where a tin shed exists currently.
Students get admission in an IIIT, based on JEE Main merit.
Vexed students have stornmed microblogging site Twitter since Monday, highlighting the horrendous condition of the upcoming campus of the institute of national importance. “An institute of National importance, given the INI status by the Central Govt. currently has no infrastructure and facilities. Any idea which college are we talking about? This is IIIT Surat which is going to run in a shed!!” tweeted @IIITStudentbody on Monday.
From August 7 onwards, students have been asked to join the institute at Kamrej near the city. However, the campus is far from ready. Students have posted images and videos of ongoing work and asked ‘if they have to study under a shed’.
While students and academia in Gujarat and even neighbouring states widely celebrated getting the coveted IIIT in the Diamond City two years ago, the academic, administrative activities and hostel are still being run from the campus of Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute (SVNIT) campus till now.
The institute started academic activity in 2017 but it is yet to have its own campus. It should be noted that the second batch of IIIT-S too graduated from its borrowed halls of excellence. Now, as its second batch appears for the campus recruitment, wary of its history, the wannabe engineers surely want to ensure a troublesome future.
The land for the new campus had been identified almost three years ago. “We r being called for classes at incomplete institute and offered accommodation at boarding school's hostel which is 12KM away at Valthan, with no Lunch except for weekdays, has a high fee and a room will have to be shared with 4 other students (Sic),” another tweet stated.
One of the aggrieved students complained, “The institute is not giving a reply if the students will have to study under a shed. After charging full hostel fees of over Rs 50,000, we are being given accommodation in a school’s hostel and not provided meals for a few days.”
Despite our best efforts, IIITS director J S Bhat refused to comment on the issue.
The institute has 400 students in second, third and fourth year. “Most of the colleges have gone offline now but second and third years are continuing to be online for IIIT-S. We fear that those who started BTech in 2020 will have to finish their entire course at IIIT-S in online mode,” a worried student told TOI.
However, currently final year students only have been asked to attend college in offline mode. But the existing institute and hostel infrastructure, or rather the lack of it, left not only students shocked, but also their guardians who had arrived to drop them from different parts of the country.
