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MANIT Deputy Director: Initiation can create wonders, implementation comes after

Maulana
Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal was established in 1960 with
about 100 students and seven faculty members. Today, in a 650 acre campus, it
houses around 4000 students and faculty members. PaGaLGuY spoke with Dr M. M.
Malik, the current Deputy Director, when he spoke about the academic atmosphere
at MANIT.

A
full time professor of physics, he took over the post of Director In-charge in
October 2015, when the full-time director, Dr Appu Kuttu K.K., was unwell. He also
stepped down from the post of Dean of Academic Affairs later, in November 2015.
Dr. Malik completed his B. Sc. and M. Sc. from Bhopal University, Bhopal, and
his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. PaGaLGuY spent some time with Dr
Malik for an exclusive interview. Excerpts from the interview:

How are the placement opportunities at MANIT?

Academic
performance at MANIT has improved in the past few years. A variety of companies
come to MANIT for recruitment, like Software and Technology companies, Public
Sector Undertakings, Consultancies, Mass recruiters, Non-Governmental
Organisations, etc. About 96%-97% students are placed every year. Facebook even
offered a 1.2 crore rupees per annum package to one of our students in 2013.  The average package offered to MANIT students
by some well-established companies is around 7.5 lakh rupees per annum.

What new infrastructure is being planned for MANIT?

A
lot of construction has been going around in the campus. Among the 10 hostels
for student accommodation, four are being upgraded. We also have an NRI hostel
with 350 rooms. A new hostel with a capacity of 1500 is being constructed to accommodate
more students, as the number of undergraduates has increased from 930 in 2013
to 1050 in 2015. A new library and 4 academic blocks are also under construction.
We have an auditorium that has been developed by alumni, and an incubation
centre.

Does the institute
face any financial difficulties at present?

We
don’t face any financial challenges as such for operations. Generally, funding
is dependent on proposals presented by the institute. If there is substance in
the proposal, funding is not a problem. But the recent construction and
upgradation at MANIT has been stuck and hasn’t yet completed because of
shortage of funds, which have not been released by the Government.

According to you, what is the reason behind the uneven
boys-girls ratio at engineering colleges?

Well,
the fact that girls are given less opportunities is not true anymore, girls are
very much participating in all fields. In fact, this year the ratio between
boys and girls at MANIT is 60:40. We believe that change is needed at the grassroots
level. So, to encourage more children to go for higher studies, we provide
education till class eight to slum children free of cost on the campus.

Have there been any ragging incidents at MANIT?

There
have been no ragging incidents in the past few years. We have a Proctorial board
for such incidents though, if a case comes to light. Two internal student
disagreements were reported to MHRD early this year. One case involved a
quarrel between 2 third year students from Andhra Pradesh and another incident involved
two students from the third and the fourth years.

How have you been instrumental in bringing about changes
at MANIT?

While
I was the Controller of Examination before being the Dean of Academic Affairs,
I initiated online examination processes for some exams. These will be
implemented from the coming semester. I also initiated M. Tech and Nanotechnology
courses at MANIT in 2006.  The physics
department developed a GIS and Remote Sensing centre, and a Nano-Science
engineering centre, beginning this year. These centres were also planned by me.

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