SKIT Future Uncertain As Approval With JNTU Not Okayed Yet
Web counselling for engineering admissions is scheduled to begin in a few days on July 13. As approval with JNTU has not been okayed, SKIT may not reopen from this academic year.
TIRUPATI: The future of Srikalahasteeswara Institute of Technology (SKIT) in Tirupati district remains uncertain, as state government has not yet approved the long-pending proposal of merging it with Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU).
Web counselling for engineering admissions is scheduled to begin in a few days on July 13. As approval with JNTU has not been okayed, SKIT may not reopen from this academic year.
Established in 1997 following efforts by former minister Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy, SKIT, managed by Srikalahasteeswara Swamy Vari Devasthanam under the Endowments department, once attracted students from across Andhra Pradesh. However, due to financial constraints and steady decline in admissions, Endowments department stopped new admissions from the 2020–21 academic year.
Anticipating this development, Gopalakrishna Reddy proposed in 2018 merger of the Srikalahasteeswara Institute of Technology with JNTU, so that first year admissions in SKIT could be revived. The former MLA succeeded in getting the state cabinet’s approval for the merger. The merger proposal went on the backburner with the change in government.
Recently, current Srikalahasti MLA Bojjala Sudheer Reddy made efforts to revive the issue. This led to Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) appointing a committee to examine the feasibility of the merger. The committee visited the SKIT campus in 2024 to assess the available infrastructure and explore revival options.
Sudheer Reddy asserts that bringing the institute under JNTU’s umbrella will enhance academic opportunities for local students. The campus has 55 acres of land, with each acre estimated to be worth over ₹10 crore. There is already significant infrastructure existing on the campus.
SKIT principal R. Devendra Reddy disclosed that a meeting had been held at the Secretariat in Vijayawada on Monday to discuss the merger. But a final decision is yet to be taken. He shared that the institute plans to reopen admissions in five departments – ECE, CSE, EEE, Civil, and Mechanical engineering, in case the government approves SKIT-JNTU merger before July 12.
“We are hopeful. But if the orders are not issued before July 12, we will not restart the admissions’ process this year,” a Devasthanam official, who oversees the institute’s affairs, maintained.
This will be a major setback for the institute and the students in the region.
