It seems that central govt. is close to reaching its goal to convert five engineering institutes to IIESTs as recommended by the Anandakrishnan Committee. According to the recently published news in Calcutta, the conversion is moving forward due to the compromise reached between the West Bengal and Central Governments with respect to the governance and admission at Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU).
The centre has agreed to the two demands, of providing reservation for the in-state students and State Govt. representation to the institution's governing body, put forward by West Bengal Govt. (WBG). WBG has probably sent the letter to the Central Government (CG) already agreeing to hand over BESU to them. The centre has agreed to two of the demands put forward by West Bengal govt.
The centre has agreed to keep 50% seats reserved for in-state students for BESU. It has also agreed to take 1 or 2 State-nominated representatives to the governing body of IIEST-Shibpur.
For handing over CUSAT, Kerala govt. had made similar demands, but it is not known whether any agreement has been reached with the centre. However, it is expected that Kerala Govt. may agree for CUSAT's conversion if the CG proposes the conditions as agreed between WBG and CG. Nothing is known about the stand taken by Andhra Pradesh Govt., although it is likely to take the similar path for two of its colleges for IIEST conversion.
The situation is still unclear, and we shall wait for any confirmed news before making any judgment. There are efforts to introduce IIEST Bill in the monsoon season of the parliament, i.e. from 31st July to 30th August.
BESU Alumni Association is faithfully collecting all articles and discussion related to IIEST issue on its website. More news can be found at: http://www.becollege.org/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=344