GUNTUR: The fate of Acharya Nagarjuna University’ college of architecture and planning lies hanging in balance after Council Of Architecture (COA) has refused to grant recognition to the institute for the next academic year. 

The management of the university and the college are in a dilemma as to how to proceed with the issue as the date for college reopening is fast approaching. The COA has put the recognition of all the 40 existing seats in the architecture college in abeyance for the coming academic year. 

Interestingly, the architecture college management requested the COA for grant of recognition for 80 seats by reviving the 40 seats which were suspended in the past. While the management of architecture college was hopeful for getting all 80 seats back, the COA dealt a blow by withholding even the existing 40 seats from granting recognition. 

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Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) had launched its architecture college in 2009 keeping in view the growing demand for the course across the country. The COA granted initial permission for an intake of 80 seats with a condition to fulfil the prescribed criteria including creation of permanent infrastructure and appointment of faculty. 

However, the architecture college was mired in several controversies ever since its inception. The suicide of a girl student, Rishiteswari, over ragging and sexual abuse in the college hostels had rattled the image of the university in 2015. Former principal of architecture college, Baburao was also arrested in the case for allegedly encouraging the senior students to continue ragging. 

In the subsequent year, the architecture college lost 40 seats. Recently, a high-level committee of COA visited the ANU campus and inspected the infrastructure in architecture college. Although, the committee openly expressed its displeasure about the inadequate facilities, the college management didn’t expect that they were going to recommend the cancellation of recognition even for the existing seats.