CAG: University fails to use e-learning facility

CAG: University fails to use e-learning facility
Rs 3.65-cr expenditure proving unfruitful: Report
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 12
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its fresh report has detected the failure of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Jammu, in establishing a state-of-the-art e-learning system for the dissemination of agriculture-related information to farmers.

“Due to improper planning, the multipurpose e-learning system established by SKUAST-J was not made operational even after three years of its inauguration. As a result, the entire expenditure of Rs 3.65 crore incurred on its creation has remained unfruitful,” stated the audit report of CAG.

The scrutiny of records of SKUAST-J by CAG revealed that a contract was awarded in February 2007 to Indian Telephone Industries Limited, a Government of India undertaking, for setting up of a studio and 20 kiosks at a total cost of Rs 3.37 crore (excluding taxes), which included Rs 11.79 lakh for VSAT bandwidth charges for a year payable to Hughes Communications Limited.

The project was to be completed within six weeks from the date of placement of order failing which a penalty at the rate of 5 per cent per week was to be imposed subject to a maximum of 6 per cent of the value of the purchase order, stated the report.

Another contract was entered into with Bharti Airtel Limited in July 2007, for providing 512 Kbps MPLS bandwidth from Jammu to Gurgaon with one-time charge of Rs 1.25 lakh and annual recurring charges of Rs 1.70 lakh for MPLS.

Till August 2010, a total expenditure of Rs 3.65 crore had been incurred on establishing the facility (Rs 3.26 crore for the supply of equipment and other material by ITI Limited; Rs 11.79 lakh for VSAT bandwidth by Huges; Rs 2.26 lakh for MPLS bandwidth and allied hardware by Airtel; Rs 22.50 lakh on uninterrupted power supply, computers etc for the studio and kiosks; and Rs 1.50 lakh as rent for accommodation till their de-hiring).

“However, proposal for the appointment of technical staff to run the facility, which was sent to the government in March 2008, had not been approved till May 2010,” stated the CAG report, adding that even the connectivity with both Hughes and Airtel for VSAT and MPLS, respectively, obtained for the first year, expired in December 2008 and has not been renewed since.

It further said apart from the prime objective of disseminating scientific information to the farming community, the network envisaged data-sharing between the main campus and research stations and the system involved setting up of a studio on the main campus at Chatha and connecting it with multipurpose e-learning kiosks in various campuses, research stations and Krishi Vigyan Kendras in six districts of Jammu division with interlinking through VSATs manned from main satellite hub in Gurgaon.

The beginning of the facility required a provision for VSAT bandwidth and 512 Kbps multi-protocol label switching bandwidth for linking of studio and the kiosks with the main hub besides trained manpower for content development and to run the system successfully.

In last, the report said even after the lapse of three years of the inauguration, the multipurpose state-of-the art e-learning facility had not been put to use except on a few occasions for the purpose of demonstration to VIPs. It added that the entire expenditure of Rs 3.65 crore incurred on the creation of the facility had remained unfruitful and the envisaged benefits had not accrued to the targeted group.

However, the director, extension education, SKUAST, while accepting the facts, stated to the CAG that the project was at the connectivity stage only and did not reach the actual implementation stage.

He said, “The efforts to make the facility functional were on and once the manpower and funds for meeting the recurring expenses were made available, the envisaged activities would be resumed after the renewal of connectivity from the service providers”.