Hostel, Food Court, US Professors: Centre's Prescription For NIT Srinagar

New Delhi: The students who left the National Institute of Technology, or NIT Srinagar, last month are back and 1,400 of them sat for their exams this weekend. A delicate agreement has taken place behind the scenes, which led to their return and hopefully, peace on campus, NDTV has learnt.

"We are very happy to inform that two MIT professors have agreed to help update the curriculum at NITs," Union minister Smriti Irani told Rajya Sabha on Friday. What she didn't say was the deal was struck especially for NIT Srinagar, and the Ivy league teachers were headed for the campus.

The students had left the campus when violence erupted following the cricket match between India and West Indies.

But an HRD ministry official told NDTV that the problem behind the campus troubles in NIT was that the students were dissatisfied with the "facilities on campus''.  "So when we address that, we hope it will take care of things," he added.
 So under the Technical Education Quality Improvement scheme, the HRD ministry has granted Rs 200 crore to NIT Srinagar. One of the first things it is helping build is a new hostel complex, because protesting students said they had to share one room among four students.

"We have been told it will be ready by September,'' said a student.

Another demand was security on campus. So the paramilitary Sashastra Suraksha Bal, which was posted during the violence in the campus, has been permanently stationed there.

"I can't call this a package,'' said Minister of state from Jammu and Kashmir, Jitendra Singh, "But yes, we did talk and met them several times to make sure they could go back feeling safe.''

And the last item on non-local students' wishlist which is being granted? A food and fruit court.