Patna: Two weeks after ThePrint published a detailed report on the state of the Greater Noida-based Institute of Archaeology, the culture ministry has responded with clarifications on the role and functioning of the 25-acre campus built at a cost of Rs 289 crore. According to the government, the ASI regularly conducts various courses and training for serving ASI personnel at the institute.
On 20 April, ThePrint report highlighted that the grand institute had just 15 students and no faculty.
In its clarification, the ministry has given the history of the institute, how it started, and what it offers. However, the ministry’s response does not dwell upon questions of job prospects of the graduating students, expansion of courses, and the problems being faced by the students on the campus, as has been highlighted in ThePrint report.
“The school offered a one-year Post-graduate Diploma in Archaeology (PGDA) course. The School of Archaeology was upgraded to the Institute of Archaeology in 1985 and became a two-year programme,” said the ministry in its response. It added that the course was redesigned and turned into a one-year programme in 2024.
“It appears that the news reporter has visited the campus either on a holiday or during the time the trainees and the officials were in the excavation camp, therefore missing the clear picture,” the ministry said.
When ThePrint visited the Institute of Archaeology on 6 April, the campus was deserted, and no educational activities were ongoing.
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Training programmes, office buildings
The institute was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, who said a New India was being created.
“The institute will provide modern amenities for research scholars and students from India and all over the world,” the PM added.
However, in the years since, the ASI has used the space more for its various offices and less for educational activities.
ThePrint report pointed out that the institute has turned into a ghost campus, with underutilised facilities, shrinking academic programmes, and declining job prospects, highlighting a stark gap between grand state investment and institutional neglect.
In its reply, the culture ministry has given details about the offices run from the institute and its sanctioned strength.
Apart from training in archaeology, the ministry said, the institute has been working toward capacity building and human resource development.
According to the ministry communication, the sprawling 25-acre Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya campus houses not only the Institute of Archaeology but many other offices of the ASI. The academic-cum-administrative block also has facilities such as an auditorium and a conference room. Common spaces on the ground floor are available for rent to government and educational institutions.
“This is an additional source of revenue for the Government,” said the ministry.
The document went on to state that the institute houses offices of the Superintending Archaeologist, Excavation Branch-II of the ASI, National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), Building Survey Unit, and Central Antiquity Collection (Ceramics).
The response added that the Underwater Archaeology Wing established its office in January 2025, and a Research and Report writing unit is also being established in the same complex.
“The Institute does not only cater to the PGDA course alone but also hosts in-service training programmes of 5-10 days duration for all cadres. Last year, fresh recruits reported at the Institute for their joining and were imparted 2 weeks training at the campus itself before they were allotted their postings in the different field offices of the Organisation. A total of 8 batches has graduated from the IA, since it shifted to this premise in 2019,” the response read.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)