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Latest News |
| 16th
January 2010 / Times of India / Hyderabad Edition |
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AICTE strict norms worry 60 BE colleges
Hyderabad: Over 60 engineering college managements from
the state are worried about losing their recognition for
the coming academic year (2010-11) what with the All India
Council of Technical Education (AICTE) deciding to implement
stringent measures to improve quality of technical education.
As the future of over 8,000 students of the first and
second year at stake in these colleges, their managements
are racing to get the shortcomings fixed before March,
the time for the next AICTE inspections.
AICTE tightened 10 of its rules this time to check mushrooming
growth of colleges with bare minimum facilities. According
to the AICTE rules, the existing colleges will also have
to be graded for recognition based on the latest standards.
The changed rules include those regarding student strength,
building maintenance and facilities for extra curricular
activities.
According to the new rules, each theory class should not
have more than 60 students. The rule will surely spell
doom for many colleges where over 60 students are stuffed
into a single class for want of space. There are also
colleges where the student strength is so less that they
do not fit the AICTE approval criteria. The new academic
rule says that ‘students should not be herded into
classes for want of infrastructure or teachers’.
“The colleges are now busy reorganising their classrooms
to meet the requirements. There are some where the students
are being made to sit in library building which is separated
by partitions,” said an AICTE official, adding that
if the classroom structures are not permanent ones approval
will not be given.
The new rules also state that the colleges will have to
renew their affiliation from their respective universities.
The colleges should also provide a library and an NCC
or physical training ground and they should have laboratory
facilities for each of the courses being offered in a
college.
Many college managements are, however, miffed with the
AICTE’s stricter rules after being lax for long.
“There were times when substandard colleges were
given approval. Now, they want these very colleges to
conform to their new rules,” said an official of
an engineering college in Paloncha, Khammam district,
describing the move as unrealistic.
Meanwhile, AICTE officials said they had kept under their
scanner those colleges which were treated with lenience
so far to make the approval system foolproof. “The
state boasts of having the highest number of engineering
colleges in the country. Now, it is time to improve the
quality of education. While the technical universities,
including JNTU were the ones which were directly involved
in the process of improving quality of education, AICTE
will take things into its hands to improve the conditions
of the colleges,” said an AICTE official spokesperson.
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