800 engineering colleges to close over low quality, admissions over low quality, admissions
- AICTE wants to close down about 800 engineering colleges across India
- AICTE chairman said admissions are plunging in these institutions every year
- Approximately 150 colleges are closed down voluntarily every year due to stricter AICTE rules
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) wants
to close down about 800 engineering colleges across India as there are no
takers for their seats, and admissions are plunging in these institutions every
year, AICTE chairman Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe told TOI.
There are approximately 150 colleges which are closed down
voluntarily every year due to stricter AICTE rules. According to a rule of the
council, colleges that lack proper infrastructure and report less than 30%
admissions for five consecutive years will have to be shut down, he pointed
out.
Sahasrabudhe was in Bengaluru on Friday to inaugurate the
'Green Hand' sculpture, signifying the pivotal role humankind plays in
preserving and nurturing the environment, at New Horizon College of
Engineering, Marthahalli.
According to its website, AICTE has approved the progressive
closure of more than 410 colleges across India, from 2014-15 to 2017-18. Twenty
of these institutions are in Karnataka. A maximum number of institutions was
approved for closure in 2016-17. Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have the
maximum number of colleges which have sought progressive closure. Failing to
survive, private engineering colleges either seek progressive closure and
ultimately shut down or turn into polytechnics or science and arts colleges.
Progressive closure means the institute cannot admit
students to the first year in that academic year, for which progressive closure
is granted; however, the existing students will continue. He also advised
engineering colleges and universities to revise and renew their syllabus, which
is the major cause behind the fall in the number of admissions and quality of
education they impart.
With the quality of engineering education and balance in the
number of engineering students and their employability being big challenges,
AICTE has introduced the plan for teachers' training."Most engineering
college professors or lecturers are MTech or PhD holders. They don't usually
have experience in teaching aspiring engineers. Now onwards, any engineering
college lecturer joining anew will have to undergo six months of exclusive and
compulsory training so that they can train future engineers better. Existing
enginee
AICTE is also looking at making engineering students
industry-ready so that they are hired on time. From this year onwards, every
secondand third-year student will have to undergo internship compulsorily so
that they are hired even before campus placements.
"Internship is the time when most students are observed
by companies and have a fair chance of being absorbed. So it's better to be
hired that way instead of depending on just five minutes of interview at campus
placements. My advice to budding engineers is that they should be attentive and
hardworking during internship," the chairman said.r lecturers have three
years to undergo this training compulsorily," Sahasrabudhe said.
