90 seats are available in Nagar (Civil), Vaidyut (Electrical) and Yantrik (Mechanical) streams this year.
The engineering (abhiyantriki) course at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (ABVHV) in Bhopal, which is being offered only in Hindi –a first time for the country- has a few takers as only a dozen students have applied for 90 seats in three of its major streams.
The university, which has been launched by BJP’s Madhya Pradesh government, an endeavour to promote Hindi language is starting the course from this academic session. MP government’s pet project is also aims to “install nationalism” in its students.
According to a report in The Indian Express, there are virtually no takers for the engineering course that no more than a dozen students have applied for the 90 seats that are available in Nagar (Civil), Vaidyut (Electrical) and Yantrik (Mechanical) streams this year.
“Even if we get just one student, we are committed to starting the course from this year. We are swimming against the tide. English took root 250 years ago, Hindi will require a few years to catch up,” ABVHV Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohanlal Chheepa said.
The VC also added that the students will learn Hindi terminology once they begin using it and one doesn’t learn swimming without getting into water.
“About 80 per cent of engineering students in MP come from rural areas and are comfortable only in Hindi medium. Students who enrol with us will have no difficulty because we will provide them online access to dictionaries for quick translation,” a senior official told The Indian Express.
The official accused that the people who questions the university’s preparedness were “anti-Hindi”.
However, the university staffs have had a tough time even finalising the first-year syllabus in Hindi and have had to rely on a host of dictionaries and government publications to find the right words for engineering parlance. With less than a week to go for the tentative inaugural date of September 1, the engineering wing has no designated teacher and those involved in the admission are not sure where classes will be held.
The university has also had to answer queries on whether the course is recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It isn’t, but authorities insist it doesn’t require AICTE approval as it was set up through the state legislature.
The state government had deputed three teachers form government colleges for the proposed course last year but they have all gone back to their respective colleges. “They can come any time we want,” The Indian Express quoted an official.