MHRD constitutes committee to review AICTE functioning

Add Review

MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 4, 2014
A high level committee has been constituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to review the functioning of AICTE
"There is a growing trend of commercialization of technical education and the laid down norms and standards are not fully implemented" MHRD Notification

After the decision to review University Grants Commission (UGC), a high level committee has been constituted by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to review the functioning of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). This has been done with the aim to restructure and strengthen the technical education sector in India.

The AICTE review committee will be headed by Former MHRD Secretary Mr. M K Kaw and shall have Prof. Dr. A K Aggarwal VC, Gujarat Technological University, Prof. U B Desai Director, IIT Hyderabad and Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala IIT, Chennai as its members.

A notification to this effect was issued by Amarjeet Sinha, Additional Secretary, MHRD on October 22, 2014. The committee is expected to submit its report within a period of six months.

According to MHRD Notification, the committee shall conduct a review on the present status of AICTE and suggest the restructuring and re-organizing of AICTE for better performance to meet desired objectives. The committee will evaluate the performance of the AICTE in coordinating and determining standards of education in technical institutions conduct an audit of its regulatory reach and identify strengths and weaknesses. It will also evaluate the performance of the regional offices of the AICTE.

Offering rationale for constituting this committee to restructure AICTE, MHRD notification says, “There is a realization that AICTE is finding it difficult to match the demand of the private players in the field of technical education. It is a fact that lot of private institutions has come up in the technical education sector and there is a growing trend of commercialization of technical education and the laid down norms and standards are not fully implemented. The technical education sector needs to be reoriented in light of these difficulties and globalization and competition in economy and the technical education needs to be redefined. Therefore it is imperative that an urgent review of the AICTE be conducted."

The committee will suggest the way and means to set up robust accreditation system in the technical education sector to meet the challenges of the mandatory accreditation. The committee will also give measures to for effectively regulating the distance education and online education in the country. The committee will suggest amendments in the AICTE Act 1987 to meet current requirements and also suggest measures for industry persons to be appointed as faculty on deputation. The committee will also suggest the regulation of the Not for Profit entities in technical education and also measures to "curb commercialization".

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on this important development.