The Uttar Pradesh government is on course with its public-private partnership (PPP) model in its Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics despite vociferous protests from the teachers and employees.
To start with, the government would hand over 25 polytechnics and 125 ITIs to a private partner after the bidding process. There are 106 and 156 polytechnics and ITIs, respectively, at prime locations all over the state. They have a total staff strength of around 20,000, including teachers and employees.
The government has short-listed five firms for filing the reques-for-proposal (RFP) document. In this regard, a pre-bid conference was held in Lucknow laat week to gather suggestions from them and clear any doubts about the process.
“We have received their suggestions and they will shortly be given the revised RFP document to allow them to submit final bids,” Archana Agarwal, secretary, Department of Infrastructure Development and Industrial Development told Business Standard.
Those short-listed include three lesser known companies and two consortiums, sources informed. The government wants to complete the process by the middle of the next month.
Meanwhile, the UP State ITI & Polytechnic Joint Action Committee has decided to intensify their agitation to protest the PPP model terming it as privatisation.
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Addressing the media here recently, committee convener Ashok Kushwaha accused the state government of trying to sell the valuable properties worth several hundred crores of rupees, owned by UP polytechnics and ITIs under the garb of PPP, besides transferring the government teachers and employees to the private partner.
He suggested the government should establish new institutes under the PPP model rather than focusing on the existing units, which were giving training to the poor students at low fee structure.
“Besides, the private companies do not have the experience of running such technical institutes and they are here only for the sake of real estate,” Kushwaha alleged.
However, Agarwal claimed that their apprehensions were unfounded. “The teachers and employees would remain government employees and the polytechnics and ITIs would revert to the state government after a stipulated lease period,” she added.
The committee has planned an indefinite strike from November 11, if the state government went ahead with its PPP agenda.
Last month, the teachers and employees had staged a demonstration in front of the Vidhan Sabha here and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Mayawati, besides burning the effigy of the PPP model at all the district headquarters on October 10 to protest the private partnership.