Patna, July 8 - Polytechnic faculty members have been teaching in engineering colleges with the full knowledge of the Bihar government, a minister has admitted.

Bihar Science and Technology Minister Shahid Ali Khan said in the state assembly Tuesday that faced with an acute shortage of teachers in engineering colleges, polytechnic faculty have been deputed as teachers for taking classes in four new engineering colleges.

'I fully admit that polytechnic teachers have been working in engineering colleges, but temporarily,' he said.

Opposition leaders said that the state government was playing with the careers of students by allowing less qualified teachers to take classes in engineering colleges.