AICTE issues notices to 101 colleges on poor standards

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has sent notices to 101 colleges across the country for not meeting quality standards and other requirements.

The AICTE has cracked down on these technical institutions ahead of the new academic year to make sure they pull up their socks.

The colleges in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states have been asked to explain why they have not complied with the rules and regulations for setting up an institution and the efforts being taken to upgrade them, reports a leading daily.

"Many of the colleges have defaulted on the faculty and infrastructure requirements, but some have also been pulled up for offering applied science courses in engineering colleges," educational consultant Moorthy Selvakumaran said.

According to academicians, this was only an assessment of 5% of the institutions that were perceived to have quality issues.

E Balaguruswamy, senior academic and former vice-chancellor of Anna University, said, "As many as 40% of all engineering colleges can be closed down for want of faculty shortage, infrastructure requirement and harassment of students and faculty. In Tamil Nadu alone, 200 colleges can be closed down."