Achyuta Samanta, founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT). File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Achyuta Samanta, the founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), a deemed to be university, has been summoned to appear before a high-level committee on Friday (February 21, 2025) following allegations of ill-treatment of Nepalese students on campus.
The Mohan Majhi-led government has constituted the high-level panel under chairmanship of Home Secretary Satyabrata Sahu to ascertain the circumstances leading to the alleged suicide, alleged high-handed action by university authorities, reasons for issuing notice only to specific group of students and closing the institute sine die for them.
Mr. Sahu along with Subha Sarma, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development, and Aravind Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Higher Education department, had visited campus and spoken to KIIT staff and students.
Mr. Samanta, a renowned educational entrepreneur, was asked to adduce evidence with adequate documentary evidence before the committee. The founder had previously been elected to both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on Biju Janata Dal tickets.
The educationist had started his entrepreneurial venture with an industrial training institute in 1992. Starting his journey with humble beginnings as a laboratory assistant in a Bhubaneswar-based college, he subsequently achieved exponential success.
Following the summons, KIIT said: “The modest institution has now grown to incomprehensible propositions and is spread over a vast 36-square-kilometre academic township. Its 25 lush green campuses employ over 3,000 eminent faculty and researchers and 15,000 staff. KIIT and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences together is a family of over a lakh people.”
“The campus houses a 2,600-bedded super speciality hospital, KIMS, a multi-storey central library, a central research facility, a 22-storey research and innovation wing, auditoriums — the largest one with 5,000 seating capacity, 18 sports complexes, many international standard stadiums covering all sports, 30 food courts, and a rose garden,” it said.
Also read | Student death at KIIT raises questions about campus governance and students’ rights in HEIs
However, his institution got tangled in controversy when Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year BTech Computer Science student from Nepal, ended her life allegedly by hanging. Subsequently, the institute was accused of forcibly evicting all Nepalese students from the campus. Some of the staffs had passed racist remarks when they said the funds being spent on students’ welfare in KIIT was higher than Nepal’s national budget.
Following the controversy that sparked a diplomatic row and tarnished the institute’s image, Mr. Samanta met Prakriti’s father and uncle. “KIIT will launch a special scholarship for Nepalese students in her name. This initiative aims to ensure that talented students like Prakriti can pursue their education without obstacles,” he announced on Wednesday.
Published – February 20, 2025 11:15 pm IST