Chandigarh, August 21
In a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training spent nearly Rs 12 crore on construction of Institute for Training of Trainers, Lalru, and is paying salary to the staff for the past seven years without conducting classes.
Staff wages total Rs 6 crore
Nearly Rs 12 crore spent on construction of Institute for Training of Trainers at LalruDepartment of Technical Education and Industrial Training has paid Rs 6 crore salary to the staff recruited in 2015The department failed to get affiliation from Union Ministry of Skill Development over its failure to purchase training equipment
Under the Vocational Training Improvement project funded by World Bank, the institute was to provide a one year national craft instructors certification, which has been made mandatory to get a job of an instructor at Industrial Training Institutes (ITI).
The department failed to conduct classes as it couldn’t get affiliation from the Union Ministry of Skill Development over its failure to purchase equipment for training instructors in three courses—diesel mechanic, refrigeration and air-conditioning and surveyor.
Though the building was partially taken over in 2018, the teaching staff was recruited in 2015. So far, the department has paid Rs 6 crore to the staff in the form of salary.
With Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at the helm of affairs, efforts were being made to start the institute by next month.
A senior official said they were trying to purchase the required equipment at the earliest and position the teaching staff accordingly.
