Engineering, Science & Technology Resources Portal

AICTE, Apna.co launch career platform, to help 3 million students

27/04/2024 3:27 PM / Leave a comment

AICTE, Apna.co launch career platform, to help 3 million students | Business Standard | 25 April 2024 | PTI | “This association also fosters meaningful engagement with leading companies via a dynamic ecosystem that nurtures talent and drives economic growth,” AICTE Chairman T G Sitharam said |

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in partnership with jobs and professional networking platform apna.co has launched a career portal to help more than 3 million students secure jobs and internship opportunities. The AICTE Career Portal will go live on April 30, 2024, according to a statement. The career portal offers features such as Indian and international job opportunities, AI resume building, real-time notifications and community engagement empowering students with essential tools for career planning. It also aims to support more than 12,000 colleges with placement assistance. “This association also fosters meaningful engagement with leading companies via a dynamic ecosystem that nurtures talent and drives economic growth,” AICTE Chairman T G Sitharam said. The strategic partnership also offers an exclusive opportunity for students to participate in the Silicon Valley Immersion Program. This includes a fully-sponsored trip to Silicon Valley, USA, where students will engage directly with industry leaders at renowned companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, among others. “This venture is crafted to arm fresh graduates and job seekers with the platform they need to launch careers and fulfil their professional aspirations,” said Nirmit Parikh, Founder & CEO of Apna.co…. Take a Look at https://apna.co/.

ServiceNow signs MoU with AICTE, to skill over 10,000 students in the first year

21/02/2024 12:51 PM / Leave a comment

ServiceNow signs MoU with AICTE, to skill over 10,000 students in the first year | Financial Express |

FE Business | February 20, 2024 | According to the latest research by ServiceNow and Pearson, artificial intelligence and automation will require 16.2 million (approx. 1.6 crore) workers in India to reskill and upskill while also creating 4.7 million new jobs in the technology sector. |

Digital workflow company ServiceNow on Tuesday announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) under the Ministry of Education, with a goal to skill over 10,000 students on the ServiceNow Platform in the first year. This MOU, it added, is the first step in a strategic partnership with the potential to scale to 25,000 students within three years. “This collaboration provides students global and centralized learning, while building future-ready skills and capabilities. The MOU will create a continuing education path with access to ServiceNow Administrator and Developer courses on the Now Learning platform,” it said in a statement. Students will also be introduced to AI technologies, providing valuable insights needed by all prospective employees. According to the latest research by ServiceNow and Pearson, artificial intelligence and automation will require 16.2 million (approx. 1.6 crore) workers in India to reskill and upskill while also creating 4.7 million new jobs in the technology sector.

Nick Tzitzon Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer at ServiceNow, said, “ServiceNow is excited to partner with AICTE to equip engineering students with the skills needed to thrive in today’s digital economy. At ServiceNow, we believe digital transformation requires talent transformation and the RiseUp with ServiceNow program is designed to empower young engineers with job-ready capabilities. The MOU will enable AICTE affiliated institutes across India to build a pool of qualified talent that will drive the next wave of tech innovation in India.” Prof. (Dr) TG Sitharam, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said, “Ensuring our students are prepared for an evolving world is paramount, requiring us to offer them modern skills and greater access to professional growth opportunities. Our collaboration with ServiceNow is aimed at providing students with advanced training in innovative concepts and techniques, alongside motivation to explore cutting-edge technologies tailored to their needs. This partnership underscores our commitment to student upskilling and technological literacy, essential for their future success.”

Dr Chandrasekhar Buddha, Chief Coordinating Officer & Chief Executive Officer, Anuvadini, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said, “Preparing students for a changing world is crucial, necessitating the provision of contemporary skills and enhanced access to professional development. Partnering with ServiceNow, we aim to equip students with the latest in innovative thinking and technology, encouraging them to engage with new technologies that meet their needs. This collaboration highlights our dedication to enhancing students’ skills and tech literacy, vital for their future achievements.” ServiceNow’s RiseUp program is a global program designed to skill one million people with in-demand digital skills around the world. In India, ServiceNow has launched the University Academic program and has partnered with 20 universities covering 16 states including Government partnerships, FutureSkills Prime NASSCOM and ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu and trained thousands of students developing job ready talent. – Read the Full Story – Take a Look at https://www.servicenow.com/

India can’t be tech global leader without core engineering courses : AICTE Chairman Prof TG Sitharam

19/02/2024 12:29 PM / Leave a comment

India can’t be tech global leader without core engineering courses : AICTE Chairman Prof TG Sitharam |

AICTE working to strengthen civil, mechanical and electronics engineering courses, says statutory body’s chairman Prof TG Sitharam | Hindustan Times | Feb 18, 2024

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is working to strengthen the core engineering courses—civil, mechanical and electronics—by breaking the myth that only students from IT sector or computer engineering background are getting the big fat salary package as compared to core engineering. AICTE chairman Prof TG Sitharam said this at Lucknow University here on the third and final day of an educational summit on Saturday. He said if India has to develop and progress, it is the core engineering sector that has to play a major role. “To boost admissions in core engineering courses, including civil, mechanical and electronics, AICTE will now allow students pursuing these programmes flexibility to also pursue a minor degree in any emerging area,” he said.

“India cannot become Vishva Guru (global leader) in technology without core engineering courses. Therefore, we have come up with some schemes to promote core engineering,” Prof Sitharam added. Placement portal for students of semi urban, village, tribal area. To help engineering students of semi urban, village and tribal area with good placement opportunities, the AICTE has developed a placement portal that will emerge as a powerful tool to help bridge the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of access to employment opportunities. He talked about the success of the internship portal with 2 crore students registered across all streams and highlighted initiatives like Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) by urging students to study in various locations of India to see real Bharat.

‘Need to promote collaboration’

Prof Sitharam emphasised the need to promote collaboration between institutions to promote concepts like dual degrees and twin programmes. He talked about the government initiative i.e. I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology and Engineering Facilities Map), an online national portal aiding researchers in locating specific facilities for their R&D work. He urged institutions to be financially independent, stressing self-fund generation. He highlighted key achievements in higher education, including foreign collaborations with up to 1600 foreign experts sharing their insights and expertise in Indian higher educational institutes, India becoming the largest patent-filing country due to reduction of patent fee and the success of indigenous startups and reaching a market capital of 500 billion USD in startup. He said many Indian startups had become unicorns. – Read More…

New guidelines by AICTE simplifies earning regular degrees for working professionals

01/02/2024 12:55 PM / Leave a comment

New guidelines by AICTE simplifies earning regular degrees for working professionals | Education Times | Rajlakshmi Ghosh | January 31, 2024 | Apart from having the same syllabus, they will be permitted up to 40% credit transfer through MOOCs/SWAYAM like the regular candidates |

To encourage working professionals to upgrade their academic qualifications, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has revised the earlier guidelines by making the process more flexible for the aspirants and the institutes. The working professionals now will not have the 50 km radial distance cap and they can opt to study in institutes that are not necessarily NBA accredited. The new guidelines are for institutions applying to run up to three courses, in programmes such as BTech, MTech, Engineering Diploma, Management courses, Computer Applications, Design, Applied Arts and Crafts, Planning, Hotel Management and Catering Technology for the 2024-25 academic session for working professionals.

Key differentiators

Rajive Kumar, member secretary, AICTE, tells Education Times, that the earlier guidelines were released a bit late last year, when the 2023-2024 academic session was already in progress, this prompted only around 150 HEIs to get approval for the courses. It also limited the number of working professionals who could give a head start to their academic aspirations. “The earlier guidelines had mandated that the HEIs must be NBA accredited to start the programmes, but as per the new regulations, such accreditation is not compulsory as long as the institutions have over 80% average enrolment in the past three years,” says Kumar. The guidelines also emphasise that enrolment of only first year will be considered and not lateral entry admission for calculating the average enrolment in HEIs. The new guidelines, he says, are likely to attract more applications from HEIs, with January 31, 2024, as the last date, failing which institutes can apply by February 7 after paying the penalty for delay. With the release of the previous guidelines, a committee headed by the director of IIM Bombay was set up to deliberate upon the 50 km radial distance limit for working professionals who were keen to enrol for the courses. “Considering the large number of representations from candidates who did not fulfil this criterion and improved road conditions and transport facilities, AICTE has mandated that professionals living within 75 km radial distance of the respective institutes, are eligible for admission, Kumar says.

Evening classes

Three years ago, the AICTE had come up with two options for conducting the classes: face-to-face mode for regular programmes, and the other ODL and online mode. As per the current guidelines, the classes will be held in the face-to-face (physical) mode to help candidates get a regular degree. The programmes will be conducted in the evening hours/any flexible convenient timings in alignment with the timings of industry/organisation. Way back in 2019-20, the AICTE had scrapped the three-year Engineering degree (evening programme) for working professionals since the ‘evening’ and part-time tag attached to their degrees became a stigma and even recruiters may not have given them due weightage. “The AICTE replaced it with the current programmes that would give them a regular degree through a flexible face-to-face format,” Kumar says. Like all other regular candidates, the working professionals will have the same syllabus and they will be permitted up to 40% of credit transfer through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)/SWAYAM.

Same faculty strength

No extra faculty will be required for the conduct of the programmes and the existing infrastructure of the universities/colleges will be utilised to run the programmes. “All our colleges and universities have adequate infrastructure and faculty to cater to the needs of working professionals,” Kumar says, adding further that existing faculty in the institute with requisite qualification as per AICTE norms will be given additional remuneration/honorarium as per the affiliating university/state government/institute norms. The institutions that are keen to provide admissions to working professionals can start up to three courses and they can conduct the courses only if there is one-third students approved intake in each course. “Institutes can also induct Professors of Practice (PoPs) to make the curriculum more industry-intensive,” Kumar says. The regulations stipulate that the permitted intake for PG-level courses is 15/30, while for Diploma/UG level courses, the numbers are 30/60. Since the candidates will be entering the system through lateral entry and must complete 120 credits to earn a regular degree, he/she might feel overburdened with the added pressure of their industry engagement. Such candidates will be given the opportunity to complete their degrees in four or more years on a case-to-case basis. As per the guidelines, institutions operating in aspirational districts (as per the latest list notified by NITI Aayog) or institutions belonging to Jammu, Kashmir and Leh/Ladakh and northeastern regions can apply for conducting the courses. “Despite the difficult terrain, working professionals in these regions must not be deprived and their academic progression blocked, be it diploma engineers aspiring to degree courses, or ITI students who are keen to upgrade with an Engineering diploma,” says Kumar.

Mode of admission

Candidates are required to have minimum one year’s work experience and they will be admitted as per the university/state admission policy. “In the absence of any such policy, candidates need not wait indefinitely, institutes can short list the eligible candidates in a transparent manner based on merit of the qualifying examination, in consultation with the state admission authority, Kumar says. News Source : AICTE Circular – Guidelines for Working Professionals (Engineering

Will the autonomy of higher education institutions be undermined by the new UGC guidelines?

01/02/2024 11:32 AM / Leave a comment

Will the autonomy of higher education institutions be undermined by the new UGC guidelines? | Opinion | Source : Financial Express | Md. Zakariya Khan | January 31, 2024 | The UGC claims that the draft guidelines have been prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and they seek to replace 1975 rules that are currently in place.

As the University Grant Commission (UGC) introduced the new guidelines, called ‘UGC (Fitness of Colleges for Receiving Grants) Rules, 2024’, for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), replacing the guidelines of 1975, it seems to have imposed new conditions on HIEs to get recognised and to receive government funding. The draft mentions the conditions necessary for government funding, which include accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), participation in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), and fulfilment of up to 75% of sanctioned teaching positions, among other conditions. “These mandatory conditions imposed by the government across various aspects of life, including education, contradict the professed ideals of the National Education Policy. The policy claims to advocate for autonomy, yet it seems the government is intruding into every facet, including the establishment of institutions providing education. I find it challenging to agree with the government’s approach of linking institutional support to strict directives,” Apoorvanand, author and professor, Hindi Department, University of Delhi, told FE Education.

Experts further pointed out that unless institutions adhere to specific regulations, they risk losing essential rights or protections. This approach seems to eliminate certain grading systems but has introduced alternative categories. However, a certain section of stakeholders are believed to remain optimistic about the new guidelines issued by the UGC and think that it can help to improve the overall performance of the institutions. “By accrediting institutions, we create a standardised approach to monitoring progress, identifying challenges and facilitating corrective measures where needed. Those who are already under best practices and showing outputs can become the benchmark. Moreover, the accreditation process is not merely about inspection but also about fostering an environment of continuous improvement. This proactive approach encourages a culture of self-assessment, leading to ongoing enhancements in educational delivery,” Sahil Aggarwaal, co-founder and CEO, Rishihood University, expressed. The UGC claims that the draft guidelines have been prepared in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020,. However, UGC didn’t highlight what kind of lacunas were present in the previous guidelines. “It is not about lacunas. It is an effort to update the regulations and processes. It is driven by the change happening or going to happen in the Indian educational landscape. When, after a gap of 38 years, a new policy opens avenues for a more personalised and inclusive educational experience then it becomes imperative to modify the implementation and assessment processes. The provisions mentioned in NEP, be it dual degree, engaging practitioners, multiple entry and exit, industry collaboration and setting up multi-disciplinary institutions that all need a new accreditation process,” Gunjan Rajput, deputy registrar, Rishihood University, said.

Surprisingly, the commission has suggested strengthening the fee regulation, emphasising that the fees levied by the college on students should strictly adhere to the amount prescribed by the relevant authority at the central, state, university or college level. Additionally, compliance with the prevailing laws is deemed essential in determining the permissible fees. In this regard, experts opined that it is not the job of the UGC to decide the fee structure for colleges, as every field and course has different requirements and expenses at different levels. “The role of the UGC in determining college fees is a complicated matter. While it is important to make education affordable and accessible, setting the same fee criteria for all colleges may not be fair or practical. Each college has different needs and costs that it operates under. Instead of enforcing strict fee regulations, the UGC should prioritise transparency, accountability, and affordability through oversight mechanisms and financial aid programmes,” Aditya Patil, founder and CEO, Ascend International School, Mumbai, said. Moreover, experts seem to carry the view that this standardised approach by the UGC towards higher education institutions can undermine the autonomy of the colleges. “In essence, this centralised approach by the UGC, attempting to standardise fees for courses across different locations, is concerning. It undermines the principle of autonomy, wherein institutions should have the authority to make decisions that best suit their unique circumstances and needs,” Apoorvanand added. Read More… / UGC Public Notice regarding: Draft UGC (Fitness of College for Receiving Grants) Rules, 2024. Public-Notice-for-12-B-Status / Draft-UGC-(Fitness-of-College-for-Receiving-Grants)-Rules,-2024

Monitoring of autonomous colleges is essential to control malpractices

29/01/2024 10:48 AM / Leave a comment

Monitoring of autonomous colleges is essential to control malpractices | Education Times | Aditya Wadhawan | Posted January 25, 2024 | The former parent university should be involved in the evaluation and examination processes of an autonomous college which was affiliated to university in the past |

The Indian Society for Technical Universities (ISTU) lodged a complaint with the University Grants Commission (UGC) about the provision made on affiliation fee for the engineering colleges that acquired autonomous status. In the revised guidelines on autonomy to the colleges, issued by UGC mentions that once the college gets an autonomous status, it is not required to pay the annual affiliation fee to the parent university. This provision has not gone down well with ISTU as after the affiliated college gets autonomy, students continue to get the degree from the parent university. Furthermore, the ISTU members are resentful that the autonomous colleges device their own examination evaluation process but opt for the degree from parent university. This, says ISTU leads to malpractices in the college proceedings, which is detrimental to students. Speaking to Education Times, MK Verma, president, ISTU, says, “Giving autonomous status to engineering colleges is a welcome step, but permitting them to not pay affiliation fee to their erstwhile parent university is not a progressive move. Also, if the parent university is not involved in conducting the exams and evaluation processes, the autonomous college may resort to malpractices which ultimately leads to degradation of quality and standards of education. The kind of third-party evaluation should be allowed which will maintain the sanctity of the degree that students receive after course completion.” The ISTU demands that even after the affiliated college becomes autonomous, the university should be involved in the process of exam evaluation, says Verma.

ISTU is an association of all government-run technical universities, which promotes best teaching practices, research activities among the member universities by sharing their policies, schemes, and related initiatives. Several cases have come to the fore where autonomous engineering colleges have accepted money to allow students to sit in exams even if they have less than 75% attendance. Many colleges fail to have transparency in their exam and evaluation system, which questions the credibility. UGC in April 2023, presented guidelines on giving autonomy to institutions to raise their academic standards by customising their syllabi and adopting new examination practices. It further eased the rules for colleges to attain autonomous status. As per the new rules, any 10-year-old college with NAAC or NBA accreditation with an A grade is eligible to apply for autonomous status.

As per the revised UGC regulations, the autonomous colleges are not required to pay the affiliation fees to the parent university, but when contacted Joshi refused to comment on the issue of affiliation fees. However, a onetime fee can be paid to the parent university at the time of conferment of autonomous status which can be decided by the executive council of the parent university. Manish Ratnakar Joshi, secretary, UGC, says, “The autonomy is only granted to a private or a government college once the university to which they are affiliated, sends a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to UGC. If any university has an observation that the affiliated college has been violating the exam, evaluation, and admission norms, it can give negative remarks. There is an expert committee in UGC that deals with such cases and decides accordingly whether a college in question should be given autonomy or not. So far, we have just received one complaint regarding this matter.” Read More

Higher education institutions not to be graded during accreditation process, NAAC announces

27/01/2024 5:45 PM / Leave a comment

Higher education institutions not to be graded during accreditation process, NAAC announces | Hindustan Times | Fareeha Iftikhar | New Delhi | Jan 28, 2024 | According to a statement issued by the NAAC, the decision to bring reforms in the present system was taken during its executive council meeting on Saturday.

The Higher education Institutions (HEIs) in India will no longer be graded during the accreditation process, and instead they will be categorized as “either accredited or not accredited”, announced the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) on Saturday. Presently NAAC gives grading to HEIs during accreditation. According to a statement issued by the NAAC, an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC) that assesses and certifies higher educational institutions with gradings as part of accreditation, the decision to bring reforms in the present system was taken during its executive council meeting on Saturday. The reforms will be introduced based on the recommendations of the overarching committee headed by K. Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of ISRO and Chairperson of the standing Committee of IIT Council, was constituted by the government in November 2022.

The committee, following public consultation, presented its final report to union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Jan 16 and they have been accepted by the Minister, the NAAC said. “The committee recommended a set of transformative reforms to strengthen the periodic approval, assessment and accreditation, and ranking of Indian HEIs. The recommendation also focuses on mentoring and incentivizing schemes for raising their participation as well as accreditation levels,” the statement stated. According to the statement, the NAAC has decided that the reforms will be implemented in two-stages – Binary accreditation in the next four months, followed by Maturity based Graded levels by December 2024.

“There will be Binary Accreditation (Either accredited or not accredited) rather than grades with an aim to encourage all the institutions to get on-boarded in the accreditation process thereby creating a quality culture in the higher education system,” the statement stated. “The binary accreditation is also in line with the best practices followed from many leading countries in the world,” it added. Under the “Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation”, the NAAC will encourage accredited institutions to raise their bar to achieve the highest level of 5 which is “Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education.” “The leveled accreditation shall enable Indian institutions to significantly improve their quality and position themselves among global top institutions,” the NAAC said. As per the Radhakrishnan committee recommendations, the metrics for Binary and Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation focuses on processes, outcomes and impact across different attributes of HEIs (instead of mere input-centric).

“The new process shall consider the heterogeneity of HEIs in the country, categorize them based on their orientation/vision and heritage/ legacy, and then seek information from the HEIs that are appropriate for their category rather than a one-size-fits-all model. There will be a special focus on rural and remote location institutions through mentoring and handholding,” the NAAC said. The accreditation agency has also decided to introduce a new “One Nation One Data Platform” to ensure integrity and transparency in handling institutional data collected for varied purposes like approval, accreditation, and ranking, with an in-built design for collateral cross-checking of authenticity of data. “The system shall be based on Trust and Data Driven with minimal visits to an institution for verification; however, carrying heavy penalties on giving wrong submissions. In addition, there will be provision for customized ranking based on stakeholders such as industry, funding agencies, students etc,” the NAAC said in the statement. Read Full Story / Dr Radhakrishnan Committee Report on Reforms in Accreditation and Ranking || NAAC-Reforms in Accreditation

AICTE to grant autonomous status to well-performing polytechnic colleges

17/01/2024 12:17 PM / Leave a comment

AICTE to grant autonomous status to well-performing polytechnic colleges | Education Times | Ayushi Gupta | January 17, 2024 | Autonomy to polytechnics will offer them flexibility, research opportunities for teachers and better placement for students.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) plans to grant autonomic status to well-performing polytechnic colleges. Not only will this regulation elevate the value of polytechnic courses, but the colleges will also get more facilities and benefits to upgrade the infrastructure. According to the AICTE circular, the colleges getting autonomy will have its own Governing Board, Academic Council, Board of Studies, Exam Committee and Finance Committee for funds received through external resources. This will change the face of Polytechnic education in India. Professor TG Sitharam, chairman, AICTE, told Education Times, “Autonomy will be granted to only well-performing polytechnic colleges which meet the criteria as defined in AICTE Grant Of Autonomy Policy document. The autonomous status will help the institutions to have academic autonomy and they will become eligible for receiving funds and other benefits which are exclusively available for institutions with autonomous status.” This will allow the polytechnic students to apply for internships announced on the AICTE Internship Enterprise Portal, which is now available only to Engineering students. Elucidating about curriculum and internship policies at polytechnic colleges Professor Sitharam says, “All polytechnic colleges and engineering colleges are equally regulated annually. The curriculum is regulated based on the Model Curriculum for Diploma Level (Polytechnics) Institutions that are available on the AICTE web portal. However, AICTE is focused on bringing amendments and changes in its model curriculum from time to time in consultation with academic and industry experts. Accordingly, curriculum including subjects/ topics on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Science, Internet of Things (IoT) and so forth will be considered while framing the model curriculum/syllabus.” AICTE’s grant of autonomy policy stated that more than 50% of the faculty members of the institution should have undergone at least one course in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) or Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM)/ Faculty Development Programme (FDP)/ industrial training in the current or previous academic year.

“Faculty members are expected to undergo training to upgrade their skillsets. All online and offline trainings are permitted for continuous upskilling at the latest technologies. AICTE will keep a check on polytechnic teachers to mandatorily undergo MOOCs training and other workshops for upskilling,” adds Sitharam. Moreover, AICTE already has well-defined policies for faculty members in technical institutes. Highlighting the AICTE’s criterion stating that at least 75% of the final-year polytechnic students must have obtained a job or have opted for entrepreneurship/ higher studies during the previous three academic years. A Ramesh, principal, BIT Institute of Technology, Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh says, “Polytechnic colleges have a dropout rate of only 20% and placement rate is good in most colleges. With the new regulation, the colleges will have better collaboration with the industries and getting a 75% placement rate will be possible.” Faculties are encouraged to undertake MOOC courses, industrial training, publications and consultancy to improve research tendencies. They are supposed to be provided with ample facilities and a good pay to involve them, Ramesh adds. V Karthikeyan, principal, Thiagarajar Polytechnic College, Salem, Tamil Nadu says, “The established norms are both necessary and attainable, serving as a crucial benchmark for institutions seeking autonomous status. The benefits of autonomy extend beyond curriculum flexibility. Till now, Polytechnics were not eligible for the Department of Science and Technology (DST), AICTE or government support. We expect that the autonomous polytechnics will soon become eligible to apply for these to enhance educational infrastructure, establish cutting-edge research laboratories, and attract highly qualified teachers with valuable industry experience. This environment will enable the chosen polytechnics to produce graduates equipped for higher-order tasks and responsibilities.” – Read More..

Technical education regulator (AICTE) asks colleges to comply with Supreme Court ruling on tax exemption

17/01/2024 11:57 AM / Leave a comment

Technical education regulator (AICTE) asks colleges to comply with Supreme Court ruling on tax exemption | The Telegraph | Basant Kumar Mohanty New Delhi | 15.01.24 | The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) last week wrote to the vice-chancellors of technical universities and principals of its approved colleges to follow in “letter and spirit” the October 2022 judgment in New Noble Education Society vs Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.

The technical education regulator has advised universities and colleges to comply with a Supreme Court judgment that says only trusts or societies that “solely” impart education without earning profit are eligible for tax exemption. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) last week wrote to the vice-chancellors of technical universities and principals of its approved colleges to follow in “letter and spirit” the October 2022 judgment in New Noble Education Society vs Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. While it’s the income-tax department’s job to ensure compliance with the court order, what the AICTE advisory implies is that education trusts and societies should not, in the first place, claim tax exemption if they are earning profit. Section 10(23C) of the Income Tax Act says any university or other educational institution, charitable institution or trust that exists solely for educational purposes, and not for profit, would receive tax exemption. The New Noble Education Society in Andhra Pradesh had moved court after certain institutions run by it were denied tax exemption by the income-tax department. Andhra Pradesh High Court held the trust was not created “solely” for the purpose of education. On October 19, 2022, the apex court bench of then Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and P.S. Narasimha clarified how “solely” should be interpreted.

“The expression ‘solely’ has been interpreted, as noticed previously, by other judgments as the ‘dominant/ predominant/ primary/ main’ object. The plain and grammatical meaning of the term(s) ‘sole’ or ‘solely’, however, is ‘only’ or ‘exclusively’. The term ‘solely’ means to the exclusion of all others,” the judgment said. So, to claim tax exemption, an educational institution “should necessarily have all its objects aimed at imparting or facilitating education” and “cannot have objects which are unrelated to education”, it said. “…Since the present judgment has departed from the previous rulings regarding the meaning of the term ‘solely’, in order to avoid disruption, and to give time to institutions likely to be affected to make appropriate changes and adjustments, it would be in the larger interests of society that the present judgment operates hereafter…. It is hereby directed that the law declared in the present judgment shall operate prospectively,” it said.

The VC of a state government-run technical university said that private trusts and societies were being set up by “profit-oriented” promoters. “Many trust members borrow from the corpus of the institutions and invest the fund in furthering their businesses. This is misuse of the surplus, which is supposed to be spent on development of the institution,” he said. He cited another “malpractice”: private institutions paying employees below the AICTE-mandated norms. He added that apart from earning profit from non-education activities, some educational trusts and societies also earned profit illegally from the educational venture itself. “Education is a not-for-profit sector. Many institutions run medical colleges and hospitals. They make profits from hospitals, which cannot be allowed since the hospitals are part of medical education,” he said. Another senior academic said the AICTE and the accrediting agencies tended to ignore malpractices by private institutions. “Now it has issued an advisory. I feel it’s a ritual. The errant institutions will find ways of maintaining ‘clean’ records while continuing to violate the directive,” he said. – – Courtesy – AICTE Circular – Judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India regarding mandate for educational institutions, society, trust etc

IIT, NIT expert panel to help AICTE assess engineering colleges for seat increase

17/01/2024 11:46 AM / Leave a comment

IIT, NIT expert panel to help AICTE assess engineering colleges for seat increase | Hindustan Times |

Fareeha Iftikhar | New Delhi | Jan 15, 2024 |

The move comes after the technical education regulator last month removed the ceiling on increasing intake for well- performing institutions, provided they maintained the highest quality of education.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has engaged over 700 faculty members from the Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology to look into the quality of education of its affiliated technical colleges before allowing an increase in seats, a top official said. The move comes after the technical education regulator last month removed the ceiling on increasing intake for well- performing institutions, provided they maintained the highest quality of education. Earlier, technical colleges were allowed to have a maximum of 240 seats in any one branch of study. The council has started the seat approval process for 2024-25, member secretary Rajive Kumar said. It has engaged the faculty from premier institutions to inspect the colleges before granting permission, he added.

“The council has specified some quality parameters for all technical Institutions, including sufficient faculty, fully equipped laboratories and updated infrastructure,” Kumar said. “Whenever new or existing institutions apply for an increase in the number of seats, we will send experts to inspect their premises. The experts will submit their recommendations on the basis of which AICTE will decide whether to allow them to increase the seats or not.” “It is important to ensure the institutions do not compromise on the quality of education,” he added. “Deputing experts from top institutions for quality checks will help ensure this.” The experts will be paid for their services and the council will arrange for their travel and accommodation, he said. “In case the number of inspections are more, we will engage more experts from government affiliated colleges, but primarily we would take services of senior faculty members from IITs and NITs,” he added. AICTE last year also lifted a moratorium on establishing new engineering colleges, three years after it had stopped giving approval to any new technical school since seats were lying vacant across several of its affiliated institutes..Read More..