Polytechnic students of Taramani’s CIT campus endure an arduous ordeal, just to study

CHENNAI: The recent triple murder of a migrant couple and their infant on the sprawling CIT campus on Old Mahabalipuram Road rattled the city, exposing safety concerns on the campus.

A visit by TOI to four of the industrial training institutes on the campus, including CPC, the state’s best polytechnic college that boasts nearly 100% placements, showed that students are putting up with something much worse.From dead insects in food to dilapidated classrooms on the verge of collapse, students brave dangerous infrastructure and endure a pitiable plight just to attend classes. On the campus, which houses more than 8,000 students from various colleges, some attend classes sitting on the floor.Despite the govt looking to bring in new certification courses to upskill students by spending crores to rope in external agencies, the basic needs of students are ignored. “We neither have benches nor desks in our workshops. Our legs ache after standing for hours during practical sessions,” said Revanth*, a student at Central Polytechnic College (CPC).When asked, CPC vice-principal Gopu brushed aside concerns, saying students must adapt to demanding work conditions.

“Anyway, we intimated to the public works department (PWD) to change the flooring from concrete to something smooth to ease students’ burden,” he said.Hostellers have it worse. “A dead frog and insects were once found in food, and we went to bed hungry. Drinking water supply is irregular, and toilet taps often run dry,” said Vinod*, a student at the Institute of Printing Technology (IPT).Structural issues persist inside classrooms. Cracked walls and damaged ceilings remain in use even after the Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) opened new buildings last year.

“During admissions, parents were told classes would be held in the new building. However, that was converted into a computer room, and we still study in the old building,” said Kumaran, an IPT student.Laboratory facilities also fall short. “Several computers do not function. Electrical leakages affect machines. In chemistry labs, pipettes and burettes are broken, and burners do not work,” said a first-year CPC student.A staff member said equipment does not match current industry requirements. CNC (computer numerical control) machines are outdated, some more than a decade old, and technical staff are insufficient. “While 3D printers exist, metal printing systems and supporting software are absent,” the staff member said.Funding issues coupled with bureaucratic delays are a major concern, said the principal of one of the colleges.

Despite nearly 100% placement record, no specific fund is earmarked by DOTE each year for maintenance or equipment upgrades. “Maintenance expenses are met from student fees. Any infrastructure request must be cleared by DOTE. On average, only 2 lakh to 4 lakh is spent annually by each college,” a principal said.Higher education secretary P Shankar said he was unaware of renovation allocations but said steps would be taken to solve issues.While principals of the four institutes claimed PWD failed to act despite complaints, PWD blamed DOTE for rejecting proposals. A DOTE source said the focus is now only on the 94 crore integration project, and this has stalled renovation and new construction across institutes.DOTE commissioner S Visakan said he had inspected the campus this week and would initiate corrective measures covering buildings, hostels, and academics. “On the academic front, we are working on introducing German language courses and footwear and food technology certification programmes to upskill students with industry-relevant skills. Further, the 45 crore Centre of Excellence, which will come up soon, will provide hands-on training in CNC handling, milling, and welding technology,” he added.