PUNE, April 10: Is the University of Pune's much touted `single window system' all set to shut shop? In no mood to compromise further, the varsity has even resolved to direct its associate Centre for Information Technology engaged in developing the sophisticated software to `suspend work' on the project, with practically no headway being achieved on the three-year-old project.In fact, the management council at its meeting in the last week of March before the former Vice-Chancellor Dr Vasant Gowariker's tenure ended - had resolved to write a letter to the CIT (a joint venture of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and UoP) to suspend work.Set up as an ambitious venture by Gowariker in 1995, the single window system (SWS) had promised to deliver across-the-counter services to students within three minutes be it giving duplicate certificates or refund. What followed, however, was that the hi-tech system was not only bereft of hi-tech management, but the non-creation of databasessorely hampered its functioning.All is also not right between the two collaborating partners of the varsity and CIT, highly placed sources pointed out. While the CIT's contention remains the non-cooperation from the varsity's various sections like the eligibility, academic and post-graduate admission for helping them understand the procedure while developing the software, the varsity hit back by lamenting on the CIT's lack of manpower.When contacted, Dr Sharad Joshi, Head of the Department of Commerce and Management Studies, UoP and who has additional charge as Management Information Cell (MIC) director which regulates the SWS, told The Indian Express, ``There's no point in fault-finding, but there had to be an end to this dilly-dallying as the project was not yielding results.''While Joshi insists that the SWS would not be discontinued as a total of Rs 50 lakh worth of investments have been made, a decision to ask the CIT to suspend work has been taken by the management council. ``We are notabandoning the project,'' he stressed adding that a new proposal to revamp the entire system would be placed before the new Vice-Chancellor Dr Arun Nigavekar who is scheduled to take charge on April 11.Joshi pointed out that the optical character recognition technology would not work for the SWS, adding that a definite methodology had to be worked out to have internal checks and balances. ``It is futile working out the system with its defects for the next academic year. If we had the internal capability, we wouldn't have invited the CIT to develop the software,'' Joshi laments.The proposal to revamp the SWS would include the appointment of a full-time director and his team of experts drawn from various departments of the university. Further, the scope of the SWS would be broadened to include other activities like computerising the varsity's administrative work and establish a network to offer services to the teaching and non-teaching departments.
