QNB Hamirpur:
Himachal Pradesh Technical University would lose over Rs. 20 crore issued by the All India Council for Technical Education from world bank funding for delay in util
ising it. It was learnt that The HPTU had to return over Rs. Two crore already and the rest of the amount may face the same music.
The world bank fund was given to the university under Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) of Government of India.
It was pertinent to mention that TEQIP was implemented as a World Bank assisted Project to improve the quality of technical education system in the country but the HPTU authorities here had virtually failed to utilise the huge amount in the the stipulated time. The fund was issued in 2017 was to be ustilised by 2018 but it could not be used till now. Notably, the certre had warned to take back the funds if it was not put to use by September 15, 2019.
The sources from the university revealed that the fund was to be used for improving quality in Technical Education, trainings, Research and Scholarships with systematic efforts. Other methodology included, encouraging students to take-up higher education through scholarship and National Doctoral Fellowship, encouraging girl students and differently abled student to take up technical education at
graduation level and to inculcate entrepreneurship values and encouraging start-ups by students etc. But the HPTU could hardly do any of such activities so far.
SP Bansal Vice Chancellor of HPTU said that the university was in process to make best use of TEQIP funding . He said that number of education quality improvement programmes were designed to utilise the TEQIP funds. The fund was received by the university in 2017 and was unused for over one year, he said. We were also in process to seek extension in time to use the funds, he added.