HYDERABAD: THE All Indian Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has been receiving numerous complaints from teaching and non-teaching staff in technical institutions of their respective administrations retaining their original certificates collected during their appointment.
Despite repeated requests, several institutes have been denying staff their certificates, making it difficult for them to get a job elsewhere. Taking note of this, the AICTE has issued a stringent warning threatening institutes with ‘withdrawal of approval’ if they continue with the practice.
Stating that it is ‘illegal and unethical’ for educational institutions to retain the original certificates and arm-twist teachers into continuing working for them -- sometimes even without a pay hike -- the AICTE, earlier this week, issued a circular chiding affiliated institutions. This is the second such directive in two months.
Teaching staff in technical institutes, meanwhile, allege that despite repeated warnings from the regulatory agency, technical institutions continue with the practice unabated. Balakrishna Reddy, Telangana Technical Institutions Employees Association (TTIEA), however, has put the blame squarely on Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) for being unable to take stringent measures against the erring colleges. “Complaints are getting piled up and this is because the JNTU-H has failed to implement orders. Each time we have raised the issue, the university administration has expressed helplessness in taking action despite having the authority to do so. Clearly, the university is pro-management,” said Reddy.
Teachers say that unless affiliated universities like JNTU-H takes action at the local level, no amount of warnings from the AICTE would deter institutions. In its recent notices, dated 8 December 2018 and January 29, 2019, the AICTE had urged colleges to abide by the AICTE regulations which prohibits them from retaining original certificates.
Meanwhile, college managements have put the onus of non-resolution of the issue on the AICTE.
KRK Rao, general secretary, All India Federation of Self Financing Technical Institutions (AIFSFTI) told Express, “We have no interest in retaining the certificates of faculty members but AICTE has to come up with a regulation to ensure that teachers don’t quit mid-semester as this would impact the students.”
Students too in the same boat
It is not just teaching and non-teaching staff who are affected by the management’s actions; the students too are in a similar spot. “It has also come to the notice of AICTE that some institutions are withholding the original certificates of students cancelling their admission at any point of time and demanding fee for subsequent years. This is a clear violation of AICTE norms,” said the circular