Engineering colleges to be penalised for violating pay scales

Non-adherence to pay scales for teachers, and student-faculty ratio may lead to suspension of admission process or reduction in intake in tech institutions under new norms of All India Council for Technical Education.
In a recent meeting, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved new norms for grant of approvals to technical institutions.
There are over 3,000 AICTE-registered engineering institutes.
The decision comes at a time when faculty members at various central universities including the DU, the JNU and the AMU are protesting against the non-adherence to pay scales and are demanding that recommendations of UGC's seventh pay review committee be made public.

"Institutions not adhering to pay scales or qualifications prescribed for teaching staff for more than 12 months and not maintaining prescribed faculty-student ratio shall be liable to punitive actions including suspension of approval for supernumerary seats and reduction in approved intake," a senior AICTE official told PTI.
The council may also decide to suspend admission in the respective courses for one academic year and withdraw approval of the course or of the institution altogether, the official added.

The AICTE may also initiate penal action against technical institutions for not disbursing the salary of the faculty and other staffers regularly and not adhering to timings for the colleges that operate in two shifts.

The second shift has to be run as per the declared timing -- from 1 PM to 9 PM-- with 50 per cent additional faculty, which would be subject to surprise inspection.
Any violation of timing and of number of faculty members may lead to closure of the course, official said.