Hyderabad: The Telangana government has placed a moratorium on the expansion of private engineering and other professional colleges. Government engineering colleges also are not likely to increase their intake.
The TS government had written to the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) not to permit new engineering colleges as the availability of seats had far outstripped demand.
Senior officials in the TS education ministry said that the government has taken a policy decision not to allow new colleges or new courses. Proposals to increase intake in existing courses are also unlikely to be accepted by the government.
This comes at a time when the All India Council of Technical Education is thinking about cutting down the number of engineering seats in the country by at least a third.
Many engineering colleges in the state are also looking at cutting down their intakes. Telangana sent the highest number of applications to the AICTE for closure of courses this year.
Requests to wind up 396 courses were made out of which 143 have been accepted. “The government has taken a policy decision on this issue. There will be no permissions to increase intakes, provide new courses or new professional colleges. Seats are already excess even after many were denied affiliation,” a senior TS education ministry official said.
The All India Council of Technical Education has mandated the permission of the government and affiliating universities to grant final nod for the closure of courses or enhancement of intake.
But the AICTE is now allowing only National Board of Accreditation (NBA) accredited courses in engineering colleges to enhance student intakes.
