As panel searches for successor,Datta to continue as PEC chief

Incumbent director of the PEC University of Technology,Manoj Datta,will continue in his post till a high-powered search committee finds a suitable successor.

Incumbent director of the PEC University of Technology,Manoj Datta,will continue in his post till a high-powered search committee finds a suitable successor. While Dattas tenure ended on Sunday, UT Administration officials are unsure of till when he will continue. A PEC director has a fixed term of five years.

The high-powered committee,comprised of UT Advisor K K Sharma,Home Secretary Anil Kumar,Education Secretary V K Singh and others,has so far interviewed seven candidates,with sources hinting that Dr Pradeep Garg of IIT-Roorkee and Dr Rakesh Arora of IIT-Delhi are the frontrunners.

In all,the UT Administration had received nine applications for the post.

Story continues below this ad

Talking to Chandigarh Newsline,Education Secretary V K Singh said It will take some time for a new director to be appointed. Till then the same director will continue. He,however,admitted that he was unsure as to how long that would take. PEC faculty have,however,demanded that the panel appoint a dynamic director with good leadership qualities. This comes in the wake of a magazine demoting the institutions ranking from 19 in 2010-11 to 23 in 2011-12. Recently,the National Board of Accreditation (NBA denied the University accreditation to start post graduate courses.

Before taking charge of PEC in 2009,Prof Datta held the office of Dean Alumni and International Programmes IIT Delhi from 2004 to 2007. His areas of specialisation include geotechnical engineering,foundation engineering,ground engineering,earth dams,landfill engineering and geo-environmental engineering.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram