SRINAGAR: The post of Director at the National Institute of Technology Hazratbal, Srinagar, has effectively remained without a full-time head for more than two years, with the Union Ministry of Education admitting in Parliament that the institute has been functioning under additional charge arrangements since early 2024.
Responding to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Education Dr Sukanta Majumdar said a regular Director was appointed at NIT Srinagar in May 2023 for a five-year tenure. However, the Director served for only about eight months before reverting to the parent organisation due to what the government described as administrative reasons.
Since the Director’s departure, the charge of heading NIT Srinagar has been handed over to the regular Director of another National Institute of Technology. The ministry maintained that this arrangement was made to ensure smooth functioning of the institute.
The issue was raised by Lok Sabha member Mian Altaf Ahmad, who sought to know whether the post had been lying vacant for more than two years, the reasons for the delay, and the steps taken to appoint a regular Director along with a timeline. While the government’s reply confirms that a selection process is underway, it stops short of providing any deadline for the appointment.
According to the ministry, a Search cum Selection Committee has already been constituted under Section 17 subsection 1 of the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007, and the relevant statutes framed under the Act. The committee has completed interviews of shortlisted candidates, indicating that the process is at an advanced stage.
