E-Paper
Seven years on, BBAU satellite centre in U.P.’s Amethi yet to gain foothold
The satellite centre of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, has been struggling to attract students since its establishment seven years ago. The centre, set up to uplift education in the region, currently has less than 500 students against its capacity of over 1,000. Issues such as limited hostel capacity, lack of accommodation facilities, and transportation challenges have hindered its progress. The centre offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various disciplines and is seeking funding for further development.
A lot has been said about development of infrastructure in Amethi, a high profile Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh, but the satellite centre of Lucknow’s Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) here has been struggling to get students even after seven years of its establishment.
Set up in June 2016 with the aim to uplift education and economic prosperity with a special focus on marginalised and underprivileged segments in Amethi and surrounding areas, the centre has less than 500 students currently against the capacity of over 1000 as of now. The satellite centre came up there at Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)—a satellite campus of IIIT Allahabad.
It has 15 teachers who teach undergraduate and a handful of postgraduate courses. Located 152 kilometers from Lucknow, the centre was set up with an aim to uplift education and economic prosperity. Prof Shashi Kant Pandey, OSD, who heads the centre, cited a number of reasons that hit hard the progression of the centre. He said geographical position was an issue.
“We have very limited hostel capacity and in the surrounding areas there are hardly any accommodation facilities for students as the nearby area happens to be a rural belt that has no hostel facilities. The centre is nearly 12 km away from Amethi city and hence in want of a transport connection not many students are willing to come here. There is a temple inside the premises and it has some litigation issues over the land. So no new construction work could be carried out,” he said.
“Electricity was an issue but now work has started. Water problem has been addressed. We are demanding ₹80 crore from central public works department,” prof Pandey said. Initially, the centre had three departments: social science and commerce, languages and vocational studies besides computer science and information technology.
Presently, these departments have been restructured and aligned with the university’s main departments encompassing computer science, information technology, food and nutrition, English, commerce, history, public administration, economics and sociology. These departments are integrated into their respective schools on the main campus. Diploma in pharmacy was introduced last year. LLM was introduced initially but was shut down in want of teachers.
“The Satellite Centre Amethi is dedicated to aligning with Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University’s vision, fostering innovation, and advancing research. We offer various programs under the NEP 2020 scheme, led by accomplished faculty members, aiming to nurture a generation of knowledgeable and ethical individuals dedicated to societal betterment,” the centre’s website reads.
