Bengaluru: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe has announced that the proposal to implement a single national-level admission test for admission to all the engineering colleges in the council, will not be implemented in the next academic year.
On the sidelines of the 51st convocation of the Bangalore University (BU) on Tuesday, Sahasrabudhe told reporters that a lot of preparation is required for the implementation of this one-nation-one test concept. “Common syllabus is one of the requirements. A few states tried to use the JEE main score for admissions in their respective colleges. But it didn’t work,” he said.
Problem of plenty
Sahasrabudhe also observed that in some states, the number of engineering seats are higher than the number of students coming out of the +2 science stream. "There is a need of more science colleges, besides ensuring quality education in the technical colleges. In the last one year around one lakh seats were withdrawn from colleges across the country. Now things are expected to settle down,” he said. "Fees have been slashed for the course/stream closure process to ensure that colleges with poor intake will be closed down at the earliest,” he said.
New start-up policy
Sahasrabudhe said that AICTE will announce its new start- up policy for the engineering colleges within one month. "Highlight of this new policy would be it will ensure minimum credits for the students studying in the engineering colleges. The main aim of this policy is nurturing the young entrepreneurship. As marks are involved, students will also show interest," he said. "AICTE will not engage in funding for start-ups," he clarified.
20 world class institutes
Sahasrabudhe also informed that MHRD and AICTE will launch a new initiative for building 20 world-class institutes in the country. “Out of them 10 from the government and 10 from the private sector. Even the new colleges are also eligible for this. Under this project, MHRD will release funds to develop 20 world class institutes in the country,” he explained.
Foreign faculty
Sahasrabudhe also stated that the move for foreign faculty on special invitation has been implemented successfully in all the major institutes of the country. "More than 600 foreign faculty have visited the country and taught Indian students," he added.
NBA accreditation
On complaints that majority of the students coming out of the engineering colleges of the country are unemployable, Sahasrabudhe said that NBA accreditation has been made compulsory for the technical institutes to expand the existing course or increase the intake.
Make use of skill based training
The 51st convocation of the Bangalore University was held on Tuesday and Sahasrabudhe delivered the convocation address. In his address, Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe said that students must utilise the vast information and skill-based training programmes available on Massive Open Online Courses (free online courses) (MOOC) to enhance their employability.
Make in India, Digital India, Smart City, Unnat Bharath Abhiyan are creating a lot of opportunities for everyone. "Students and youths must play a key role in all these initiatives and ensure that everyone will benefit by it," he said. Governor Vajubhai Vala inaugurated the convocation and Vice-Chancellor Dr B Thimmegowda presided.
