Indian engineers working in Kuwait are facing an issue in visa renewal again as the authorities there are once more insisting on a complex norm to complete that process, the Pattali Makkal Katchi said on Thursday and urged the Centre to intervene and solve the problem. Like in the years 2018 and 2019, Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) has yet again said that it would grant No Objection Certificate (NOC) to engineers for further stay only if their alma mater is recognised by the Indian National Board of Accreditation, the PMK said. NOC from KSE is a pre-requisite for visa renewal, according to the Kuwait government rules. In view of this inappropriate stipulation, about 12,000 Indian engineers, including over 5,000 Tamil Nadu engineers face the threat of job loss, PMK founder S Ramadoss said in a statement. The Kuwait authorities insisting on NBA listing is owing to ignorance about the recognition system followed in India, he said. The NBA was set up by the All India Council for Technical Education, the apex national body on technical education, and it started functioning from 2010 independently. NBA recognition has been made mandatory only from this year and even this has not been implemented fully, Ramadoss said. When this is the factual position, if the Kuwait authorities demand NBA recognition from Indian engineers who graduated decades ago, they would not be able to comply with such a norm. ”The Central government has the responsibility to protect the jobs of Indian engineers working in Kuwait.” Hence, the Union government must take up the issue with Kuwait and ensure that all Indian engineers who graduated from an institution recognised by the AICTE are provided visa extension, he urged.
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