The State Government claims to have taken various measures to enhance the vocational education facilities in the State but the Government polytechnic at Dhak in Joshimath presents a contradicting picture.
This Government polytechnic has been functioning without the approval of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Consequently, the students securing a diploma from here will face a tough time in the future as their qualification from this polytechnic will be of no value without AICTE approval.
Alarmingly, this is not the only Government polytechnic functioning in Uttarakhand without AICTE approval.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Government polytechnic was opened in Dhak Gram Sabha in 2014-15. The polytechnic which has been functioning from the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) building, offers training in two trades - civil engineering and electrical engineering. However, presently only the civil engineering classes are being conducted regularly. Of the 25 seats in civil engineering trade, only 20 seats are occupied by students.
In addition to this, there is only one teacher in the entire polytechnic.
Observers point out that the State Government claims to have undertaken various efforts and drafted plans to improve vocational education facilities in Uttarakhand, especially to enable local youth in mountainous areas to secure employment locally which in turn is expected to mitigate the continued migration of people from the mountainous areas to the plains.
However, as in the case of the government polytechnic in Dhak, the Government is facilitating professional diploma courses which carry no weight. According to reliable sources, the number of Government polytechnics in the State is 78 of which 70 are functioning and out of these only 36 have AICTE approval while 34 are functioning without the council's approval. When asked about this anomaly, officials generally state that the application for AICTE approval is under process.
However, since diplomas awarded by institutions not approved by the AICTE are considered invalid, observers point out that the professional future of the students of such unapproved polytechnics remains uncertain.