‘Serious Demand-supply imbalance in engineering education’

The number of engineers produced should be more or less in consonance with the industrial requirement in that particular region

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Engineers dime a dozen in the state? Blame it on the current engineering education system which does not take into account the actual requirement of technical manpower, says All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) Director Manpreet Singh Manna.

In a chat with ‘Thiruvananthapuram Express’, Manna, who is in charge of the regional office of AICTE here, said it was high time that the supply of engineers was in tune with the demand. “Of course, there should be a reasonable margin taking into account the number of  engineers who may go abroad or divert to other fields. But the number of engineers produced should be more or less in consonance with the industrial requirement in that particular region. There should also be a cap on the number of seats in each discipline,” he said. “For instance, in a predominantly agriculture-oriented state, there is no point in producing aeronautical engineers. There should be a serious introspection on the part of the state governments also while granting No Objection Certificate (NOC) to institutions offering technical education,” he said.

Ranking and accreditation

Manna said that AICTE now insists that no new courses would be sanctioned for institutions unless they have been assessed and ranked by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). “We are encouraging engineering institutions to apply for NBA accreditation. Also, engineering institutions  should be ranked under the National Institution of Ranking Framework (NIRF) so that students are aware of the standards of the institutions where they intend to pursue their education,” he added.

Total autonomy needed
    
In November 2014, a review committee constituted by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development had recommended total autonomy to the AICTE so that it has the final say in all matters relating to technical education. The proposal is still pending with the Centre, Manna said.
He added that the current norm, that AICTE has no control over deemed or private universities offering technical courses, should be re-examined. Currently, a Supreme Court order limits the AICTE’s mandate to just technical education institutions. The AICTE Act should be amended to expand its control over private and deemed universities that are mushrooming all over, he added.

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