Bhopal: The ambitious $300 million dollar project sponsored by World Bank for the higher education department is missing from its website- raising question on transparency promised by the state government. Not only this, the websites of colleges and links provided at the higher education department website are full of glitches.
Several colleges have complained to the higher authorities of the department. The situation remains unaddressed even when the higher education department has made a separate cell for this project. When authorities of the dedicated cell are told about the glitches related to websites they simply advise the complainants to consult the NIC (National Informatics Centre). NIC is a central government agency that takes care of the websites of all government departments.
Colleges have been asked to provide all details in RTI (Right to Information) section of the website but option to upload information by colleges is missing. Not just this, colleges do not have option to remove or change the photo of principal on their website. In another section, colleges are supposed to upload examination papers but BA papers could not be uploaded as there is no option for BA in the website.
The box that contains information on departments is dead and contacts of the departments cannot be uploaded. There are several glitches in the dropdowns on the webpage which after clicking either show error or take you out of the site. “The website made for the colleges isn’t user friendly at all. For NAAC certification and other purposes we have to upload all documents on our website but these options are not available,” said head of a college requesting anonymity.
“The NIC officials do not respond properly,” he added. All colleges listed for the project have to submit a self study report (SSR ) and Data Validation Verification (DVV). DVV is an important step for approval of the project for the college where all documents need to be uploaded else your claim is cancelled. The officials of HED when contacted said that they have come to know about these glitches and are in contact with the NIC to rectify the problems as and when they are reported.