‘In 5 years, Nagpur will become an education hub’

Nagpur was known as one of the education hubs in Maharashtra but then fell way behind Mumbai and Pune as far as quality education institutions were concerned. With the change of guard at both centre and state, things began to change. No one ever thought that the city would get a prestigious institution like IIM and NIPER, leaving other top cities behind.It is believed that it came due to the pursuance of top leaders like CM Devendra Fadnavis and union minister for highways and surface transport Nitin Gadkari.
However, just political willpower was not enough to see these premier institutions through, it also needed ground support like a place for starting temporary campus, making arrangements for erecting infrastructure like furniture, equipment, classrooms, computers and library among others. Facilitating this is joint director of technical education in city Gulab Thakre. He has been involved right from identifying the temporary campus to successfully setting up of institutions like IIM, IIIT and Government College of Engineering (GCOE).
In a chat with TOI, Thakre spoke at length about the intense struggle and hard work he and his team had to undergo, before getting those institutions.
Excerpts from the interview ...
Q. How as the situation before October 2014 when new government was sworn in?
A. Though IIM and NIPER were allotted after the new government, projects like IIIT and GCOE were very old. But, for various reasons, these couldn’t take off for all these years. Former guardian minister Nitin Raut made strenuous efforts for GCOE, and even get it sanctioned in his constituency at Mouza Wanjra. But, again, differences cropped up and it remained on paper. IIIT was also sanctioned by the previous government at Pune and Nagpur simultaneously. It too was marred by problems and remained on paper. It was only after the new government took over that leaders like Fadnavis and Gadkari took personal interest that led to flood of such national level institutions in the city.
Q. IIM Nagpur created a record of sorts in the country.
A. That is true, as it actually started operation within eight months of its announcement. Normally, it takes four to five years to get clearances and start operations for such top B schools. IIIT, MNLU and GCOE are perfect examples of it. It’s thanks to initiative taken by CM himself, who offered instantly offered land at Mihan for setting up permanent campus. It wasn’t easy task to find temporary campus. Being a premier institution, it required all top level facilities like Wi-Fi, library, hostels, classrooms, and canteen among others. It was quite a difficult job. We first visited Nagpur University’s LIT, but facilities were not up to mark.
Q. How did you zeroed in on VNIT for starting IIM?
A. After failing to get a suitable land, I called on Vishram Jamdar, chairman of Board of Governors (BOG) of VNIT. He showed us two newly constructed buildings built for their faculty on college premises. On our request, VNIT team decided to extend the helping hand despite, they needing the building to accommodate their own staff. It was perfect location as VNIT had all state-of-the-art facilities like Wi-Fi, library and other facilities. The MHRD team also liked facilities provided to the students and instantly sanctioned it.
Q. You also played an active role in setting up IIIT.
A. We had to struggle to find out the land required for prestigious institution. It was then identified at Waranga on Wardha Road. Earlier, we had identified, another land near Kaladongri, but it was rejected by the visiting MHRD team due to lack of accessibility. We also faced problem while selecting temporary campus for IIIT. We initially liked VMIT for setting it up. As they were charging hefty amount, we decided to shift to BSNL regional training centre.
Q. GCOE is touted as your brainchild.
A. When Nagpur University was bifurcated into Gondwana, the only GCOE in region in Chandrapur came into latter’s jurisdiction. It created serious problems for the poor students. GCOE was my dream project and I had submitted a proposal to the government in 2006 for such an institution. After 2011-12, I wrote several letters to the government to set up much-needed institution. After former minister Nitin Raut took up the issue, the state cabinet sanctioned it for the city. We had even taken a land at Mouza Wanjra behind Automotiove Showroom to set up the prestigious institution. But it got marred in a controversy.
Even after getting the new premises at Khapri with ready-made building, hostels and laboratories, we were worried as earlier AICTE team pointed out several loopholes during inspection. We again moved to AICTE Delhi headquarters for convincing the officials that GCOE is government run institution meant for poor students. Later, they dispatched a new team on our request. It was again a long struggle.
Q. What about NIPER?
A. It’s almost over one and half months that Niper was announced. As per the government directives, we’ve also identified a land on Amravati Road at Chicholi and even forwarded a proposal to state higher and technical education and revenue departments. Since then, there is no progress from the government side. I am quite hopeful that it would soon commence its operations from the next academic session.
Q. What do you foresee for Nagpur in five years?
A. It would emerge as big educational hub, not only in state, but also in the country, due to presence such of national level institutions. Students from across the country would arrive in city for pursuing education. All these institutions would also attract companies to the region that will create the jobs.
Q. Which other institutions are needed in Nagpur?
A. Nagpur badly needs the Government Pharmacy College which could offer degrees to the students. Even institutions like Government College of architecture and management are needed. NU had its own MBA department, but that is insufficient to cater to accommodate more number of students.