DIBRUGARH, June 30 - The Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC), one of the Inter University Centres of the University Grant Commission (UGC) of India highly appreciated the state-of-the art infrastructure of the UGC sponsored Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC) at Dibrugarh University here and assured facilitating release of more grants to make it functional, university sources told The Assam Tribune.
The EMRC, which is the first of its kind in the State and the second in the North-east after Manipur University, was established in 2012. The mandate of the centre is to produce quality educational programmes in the visual forms based on UGC model curriculum so as to get them telecast through the medium of television channels like Gyan Darshan, DD Prasar Bharti and Vyas Higher Educational Channel etc., for the general public.
The UGC had sanctioned a sum of rupees one crore as the first installment for construction of a studio, purchase of equipments and a vehicle. It had also sanctioned 25 posts, including that of the director, producer, cameraman, production assistant, graphic assistant and engineer etc. However, only 90 per cent of the sanctioned amount was released for purchase of equipments for the centre during the tenure of Dr Kandarpa Kumar Deka as the Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University. �Its completion and recruitment of personnel was, however kept in abeyance for some period following allegation of irregularities in setting up the media centre and few other media centres in the country,� Dr Nirode Boruah, former Director in-charge of the centre here said.
Dr Boruah said that two officials from the parent body �CEC� � S Sathyam, a retired IAS officer and Nageswar Nath, the Deputy Director were in the EMRC here to inspect the infrastructure as well as to examine the affairs of the under process media centre following charges of corruption against two former members of the Board of Management of the Centre, designated from CEC. The CEC officials who left today, have been visiting all the other media centres in the country, where the under question two former members of CEC were designated as members in the Board of Management, sources said.
Another allegation being looked at is leveled against Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), for reportedly quoting higher prices than the market price for equipments supplied to the EMRCs. BECIL is a 100 per cent Government of India enterprise that undertakes the job of selection, purchasing, installing and servicing equipments as also providing manpower training and consultancy services to the EMRC centres by virtue of signing an MoU with CEC. It must be mentioned here that EMRC, Dibrugarh University had conducted interviews twice earlier for manpower but had to suspend them for the alleged irregularities.
