The ball has been set rolling for a polytechnic college at Bargawan village in Namkum block on the outskirts of the state capital.

 

Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), a reputable institution that currently offers courses in management, IT, insurance and rural development among others, will establish the polytechnic institute.

 

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has issued a "letter of intent" to XISS to set up Xavier Institute of Polytechnic and Technology. State technical education director Arun Kumar said that AICTE had given the initial nod in the form of the "letter of intent".

 

 

 

 

"Now XISS needs to build infrastructure at the proposed site. The AICTE team will again visit the place before giving a final clearance to start courses," said Kumar.

 

To start with, the institute has proposed to offer 300 seats in the polytechnic that will have all the basic streams. Sources said that about 10 acres of land were available with XISS for the polytechnic. It is likely to be commissioned by 2010.

 

At present, a total of 2,800 seats are on offer in the existing polytechnic in the state, including 12 government and two private ones.

 

The two private polytechnic offer diploma in various engineering streams. These are Al Kabir in Jamshedpur and KK Polytechnic in Dhanbad.

 

This year, the entrance tests to admit students in the different polytechnic colleges are scheduled on May 18, a day before the state joint entrance examination for entry into engineering, medical, agriculture, veterinary and forestry courses. The tests will be conducted by Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board.

 

Moreover, Namkum is slowly developing into an education hub. It houses the headquarters of Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC), an autonomous council that conducts matriculation and intermediate examinations among others.

 

Recently, Chhotanagpur Law College has been shifted to a new building in the area.

 

Telegraph / 14 May 2009