DCE caught in wrong shift?

Delhi University, it seems, finally has a valid reason to oppose the conversion of Delhi College of Engineering into a university, reports Ritika Chopra.

Delhi University (DU), it seems, finally has a valid reason to oppose the conversion of Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) into a university.

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The state government, as it turns out, may not have followed the correct procedure to move DCE out of the purview of the Central University.

Deepak Pental, vice chancellor of DU, made this known at the Executive Council—the highest decision-making body —meeting on Monday evening.

"We have sought legal opinion on this and it seems the Delhi government has not followed the right procedure," said Pental. Pental said the government had not consulted the University's decision-making bodies before converting DCE.

“Though we haven't yet decided on a course of action, we would like to seek a clarification as there are a number of government institutions affiliated to DU,” said Pental.

“Today it is DCE, tomorrow it could be Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology,” he said.

DCE was recently upgraded to a (state) technical university after the state government passed the Delhi Technological University Bill in the Assembly early this month.

The government is not convinced. “The bill was vetted by several departments and discussed in the Vidhan Sabha before it was passed. The question of consultation with DU should have come up then,” said a Directorate of Training and Technical Education official on condition of anonymity.