The Centre could parachute some of its best teachers from the IIT-NIT system into NIT-Srinagar for a brief stint in an attempt to pacify agitating students who have alleged harassment by the resident faculty and are demanding more non-local staff at the institute. The HRD Ministry is learnt to have drawn up a list of 50 of its most accomplished faculty members from across 31 NITs and 18 IITs. Of these, some could be sent to NIT-Srinagar soon to teach either a semester or a course. “There is a feeling among students there that their academic staff and teachers are not good (enough). The idea is to send across a message that the government isn’t blind to their concerns and this step could help build confidence in them,” said a source, who did not wish to be identified. The NIT campus has been on the boil ever since Kashmiri students and outstation students clashed following India’s semi-final loss to West Indies in World T20. Just as campus life had started returning to normalcy, a few students clashed with police Tuesday when they were stopped from leaving the institute. [related-post] HRD Minister Smriti Irani despatched a two-member team to the institute to “build confidence” among students and ensure that examinations are held in a “secure environment”. This team, she said on Wednesday, would remain on campus till the examinations get over. The exams are scheduled to be held from April 11 to 14. The agitating students subsequently put forth a list of demands to the HRD Ministry’s team and the institute’s director. They have sought permanent deployment of central forces on campus, hoisting of the national flag at the main gate and also asked for 50 per cent of the staff and faculty to be made up of “non-locals”, among demands. Some students have also demanded that they be transferred to an NIT outside the state on the grounds that they feel insecure and fear a backlash from faculty members in the shape of poor marking. Sources said the government and the institute’s director are open to the idea of getting answer scripts evaluated from external examiners to allay fears of poor marking. It has, however, ruled out the other demands, especially the one to transfer non-local students to other NIT campuses. “There is no question of transferring students to another NIT. The admission to the NITs is based on merit and that cannot be changed at will. Moreover, we are not aware of any provision in the Acts or statutes of the NITs that allow such transfers,” the above source added. Students still feeling insecure, ministry officials added, will be allowed to return home and take the exam at a later date. “As per our estimate, about 2,000 students want the examination to be conducted as per schedule. So, the question of postponing it does not arise,” a source said.
