Union Minister of Education chaired a high-level review meeting today on matters relating to NIT Kurukshetra & IIEST Shibpur and overall student well-being across Higher Educational Institutions. The meeting was attended by the Chairperson, Board of Governors, NIT Kurukshetra; Secretary (Higher Education); and other senior officials of the Ministry.

Key Deliberations

The meeting undertook a detailed review of the academic environment, campus life, and hostel management at these Institutes. It was observed that urgent steps are required to enhance campus vibrancy and strengthen systems for constructive student engagement. The Minister stressed identifying specific themes for intervention requiring student engagement, faculty orientation, alumni involvement, academic support, innovation culture, hostel governance, sports culture, and overall campus management. The need to standardise faculty recruitment, ensure sensitive and proactive faculty representation in BoGs, and appoint illustrative individuals with adequate time as Chairperson, BoG was also discussed.

With regard to overall administrative and academic issues of the Institute, the Ministry on 29th March 2026 had constituted a high-level committee, under the provisions of the NITSER Act, 2007, to review the work, progress, governance, and overall functioning of NIT Kurukshetra. The Committee comprising of Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe (Chairman, NETF & Former Chairman, AICTE), Shri M. Madan Gopal, IAS (Retd.) (Chairperson, BoG, VNIT Nagpur), and Prof. K.K. Shukla (Director, MANIT Bhopal) has been tasked to assess academic and administrative performance, recruitment and grievance-related issues, institutional indicators such as NIRF rankings etc. The Committee is examining the series of issues tasked with and likely to submit its report shortly.

A delegation led by Secretary (HE) also visited NIT Kurukshetra on 24.4.2026 and interacted with the stakeholders. On the same day, the resignation of the Director, NIT, Kurukshetra was accepted by the Hon’ble Visitor of NITs and the then Incharge Registrar of the Institute was also placed under suspension with immediate effect.

Decisions Taken to ensure student centric campus:

A.        Immediate Measures 

• Hostel Upgradation: Immediate improvement in hostel facilities. 
• Faculty Upgradation: A structured upgradation programme for faculty will be held during May–June 2026, focusing on campus life including student mentoring, well-being, academic support, and positive campus culture, with visible outcomes expected by July 2026. 
• SOPs for Student Engagement: Standard Operating Procedures will be developed to institutionalise student engagement and innovation in academia as well as other than academic areas.

B.        Medium Term Measures

• Sports & Recreation: Adequate sports facilities will be ensured and regular competitions organised to promote holistic development.
• Capacity Building: Structured programmes for faculty and academic administrators to build a supportive institutional culture.
• Alumni Engagement: Structured on-campus leadership talks and activities with alumni to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, problem-solving, and a “can-do” culture.

Interventions for All HEIs under Ministry of Education

• Apex Committee on Campus Culture: A Committee comprising Directors of HEIs, noted alumni, faculty, and students will be constituted to suggest and monitor measures for a vibrant, student-centric campus.
• Overarching Framework: The Ministry will develop a framework to address academic and infrastructural issues across HEIs, with focus on student well-being and institutional ambience. 
• Sports & Infrastructure: Concerted efforts to promote sports culture and to review/revamp academic blocks, labs, libraries, hostels, mess, and recreational clubs on priority.

The Government of India is committed to ensure a renewed, upgraded, and student-friendly campus culture nationwide.

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AK

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