Govt sets up review panel for AICTE restructuring

The government has set up a review committee to look into restructuring of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to enable it to address the challenges arising in wake of growing complexities and the expansion in technical education sector.
The four-member committee will be headed by former education secretary M K Kaw. It will evaluate the performance of AICTE, suggest amendments in its Act to meet the present day requirement and recommend ways to set up a robust accreditation system in the technical education sector.
The committee has been asked to submit its report within six months.
"...There is a growing realisation 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 lots of private institutions have come up in technical education sector and there is a growing trend of commercialisation of technical education and laid down norms and standard of technical education are not fully implemented.

"The technical education sector needs to be reoriented in light of these difficulties and globalisation and competition in economy and technical education need to be redefined. Therefore, it is imperative that an urgent review of the AICTE be conducted," according to an HRD Ministry order.
The existence of AICTE had come under cloud last year when the Supreme Court had restricted its power to approve technical colleges. The Apex Court had, however, restored its power in an interim order.

"But the ruling had set the ground to look into the functioning of AICTE afresh and especially at a time when there is a proliferation of technical institutes in the country and growing complexities in governing them," an official said.

The HRD Ministry has already set up a panel to restructure UGC, governing higher education in the country, thus putting in motion an initiative to go for an overhaul in the higher education sector.
The AICTE restructuring committee will also look into revamping of the grant distribution function of AICTE for timely utilisation of funds and measures for enhancing quality research in technical education.