NIT Srinagar gets full-time director after over two years

Srinagar, Jul 30: Ending a prolonged wait for regular leadership, the Ministry of Education has appointed Prof Anurag Misra, Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Jammu, as the new Director of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar.

According to an order issued by the Department of Higher Education on July 29, the appointment has been made by the President of India in her capacity as the Visitor of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs). Prof Misra has been appointed on a tenure basis for five years from the date he assumes charge or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.

The Ministry has directed the Director of IIT Jammu to relieve Prof Misra at the earliest to enable him to take charge at NIT Srinagar. It has also instructed the Director-in-Charge of NIT Srinagar, Prof Binod Kanaujia, to hand over charge to the newly appointed Director.

The appointment fills a key academic and administrative position that had remained without a full-time incumbent for more than two years.

On Tuesday, Kashmir MP Mian Altaf raised the issue once again in the Parliament, reminding the House how he took up the issue with the former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In December last year, the Union Ministry of Education informed Parliament that NIT Srinagar had been functioning without a regular Director since the premature departure of the last appointee. 

Responding to a question by National Conference MP Mian Altaf Ahmad in the Lok Sabha, the Centre said a regular Director had been appointed in May 2023 for a five-year term but returned to his parent institution after serving only eight months due to administrative reasons.

Since then, the institute had been functioning under interim leadership, with the additional charge of Director being assigned to the head of another National Institute of Technology to ensure smooth functioning.

The Centre had also informed Parliament that a Search-cum-Selection Committee had been constituted under the provisions of the NITSER Act, 2007, and that interviews of shortlisted candidates had already been conducted, indicating that the appointment process was in its final stages.