{IKGPTU recruitment, affiliation} VB seeks response from Punjab technical edu dept

The intervention by the anti-corruption agency follows a complaint lodged by Kapurthala-based municipal councillor Amardeep Gujral, who furnished documentary evidence detailing systemic violations of statutory procedures and recruitment norms during the hiring of technical assistants at the university

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has sought a response from the principal secretary of the department of technical education and industrial training regarding allegations of recruitment irregularities and illegal private college affiliations at IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU)

Compounding the university’s legal troubles is a separate allegation concerning the illegal grant of affiliations to private colleges for allied and healthcare courses during 2025. (HT FILE)

The intervention by the anti-corruption agency follows a complaint lodged by Kapurthala-based municipal councillor Amardeep Gujral, who furnished documentary evidence detailing systemic violations of statutory procedures and recruitment norms during the hiring of technical assistants at the university.

In a letter dated July 2, the chief director of the VB directed the department of technical education to review the submitted evidence and provide clear recommendations on whether a full-scale vigilance inquiry should be conducted, though the bureau noted it has not launched an independent probe just yet

The core of the complaint exposes a series of highly compromised administrative decisions, alleging that the university unilaterally altered the recruitment process without obtaining mandatory clearance from its board of gGovernors.

The university is accused of conducting interviews carrying 40 marks for the technical assistant posts, a move that contradicts the Punjab government’s policy banning interviews for Group B, C, and D category recruitments.

The transparency of the examination process has been also questioned. The complaint alleged that standard OMR answer sheets were discarded in favour of ordinary MCQ sheets to allow manual evaluation. Candidates were reportedly barred from retaining question papers or answer copies, preventing any independent verification against official keys, while the university allegedly reused a single set of question papers throughout the cycle.

Further stoking the controversy are allegations of procedural manipulation on the actual day of the interviews. The complaint alleges that the document verification committee was abruptly changed at the last minute to facilitate the selection of preferred candidates, and that interviews for nearly forty candidates from the computer science and engineering department were conducted after official working hours without proper records.

Additionally, no practical or skill assessments were administered despite the highly technical nature of the roles. The university is also accused of later exploiting the waiting list to appoint candidates on a contractual basis against permanent, regular posts in clear violation of established hiring rules. Compounding the university’s legal troubles is a separate allegation concerning the illegal grant of affiliations to private colleges for allied and healthcare courses during 2025.

The complaint alleges that IKGPTU authorities allegedly issued these affiliation orders in direct defiance of restrictions imposed by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions, signaling potential statutory violations that now sit with the state’s technical education department for review.