Mumbai college recalls 438 students after securing OC for its building

Mumbai city news: The students were shifted to 19 engineering institutes in October 2016 following orders from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE)

The 438 students from Padmabhushan Vasantdada Patil Pratishthan’s College of Engineering (PVPPCOE), Sion, are being recalled to the institute.

The first-year and second-year students were shifted to 19 other institutes because the Sion college building lacked occupancy certificate. (Representational photo)

The first-year and second-year students were shifted because the Sion college building lacked occupancy certificate (OC), which the institute procured from the civic body in April 2017. The students were shifted to 19 engineering institutes in October 2016 following orders from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE).

A letter from the DTE reads: “As per the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) directives, the principals of institutes to which the students were shifted are directed to grant approval for the transfer of students with a no-objection certificate (NOC).”

Last year, the AICTE classified seven colleges from the state, including five from Mumbai and one from Navi Mumbai, under the ‘No Admission’ category as they lacked requisite land and documents.

But the colleges moved the high court , which stayed the AICTE order and allowed the institutes to admit students but with conditions. The AICTE then challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, which refused the Sion college to admit students. However, the Apex Court granted relief to three other colleges.

“We are glad that the students are moving back to our college. They were transferred without their consent,” said Appasaheb Desai, general secretary, PVPPCOE.

The college has courted controversy on several occasions, with activists alleging violations and malpractices by the college management. Earlier, the management had to shut down the polytechnic institute as it lacked necessary amount of land to run the diploma college.