Responding to a letter by M.C. Sudhakar, Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Karnataka, about the need to regulate the uncontrolled growth of technical/engineering education in the State, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said that any application to set up a new institute is processed only if a stamped receipt by the respective State government/affiliated body is submitted. This has essentially put the ball back in the State government’s court.
AICTE further said that the approval process handbook 2023-24 will bring sweeping changes as per National Education Policy (NEP-2020) implementation plan. “The Government of Karnataka can submit its proposals for the academic year 2024-25 well in advance, so that they can be inculcated in the process for grant of approvals,” said Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE in his letter to the Minister.
“It is communicated through the Council’s approval process handbook that, if the State government wishes to deny the grant of approval to the said applicant, the same shall be intimated to AICTE within 15 days from the receipt of the same. So that the Council shall not proceed with the approval granting process,” the letter said.
In his letter, the Minister expressed concern about lack of regulatory framework on institutions over offering new courses, increasing the number of seats in Information Technology (IT) related courses and decreasing the seats in other streams, especially in Tier-1 cities, creating an imbalance both regional and in the number of students graduating in these streams as against job opportunities available in the market. He had demanded that AICTE “control the increase of seats (especially IT related courses)/decrease of seats (in traditional courses) in engineering/technology mainly in State private universities/institutions by fixing the limit for minimum and maximum seats in a particular course which they can offer” and suggested a temporary ban for the next two to three years on new institutions offering these courses in Tier-1 cities.
