CHENNAI: Taking serious note of the grievances of faculty and staff of engineering colleges regarding termination of services and non-payment of salary, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has warned engineering colleges across the country to refrain from such activities.
In a circular, the statutory body directed the engineering and technical colleges, “No faculty should be terminated in the absence of violation of disciplinary guidelines, and due process of redressal. Salary and other dues to the faculty or staff members should be released on time and also dismissals (if any) made during the lockdown must be withdrawn. This is to be adhered to strictly.”
AICTE has also asked the colleges to not insist students to pay full year or full term fee at one go and advised colleges to collect fees in three or four equal instalments till normalcy is restored. “Accordingly, all colleges or institutions are directed to display this information on their website and also communicate the same to all the students through e-mail,” said AICTE.
The statutory body has reminded engineering colleges to help students and faculty members during this tough time. Any instance of non-compliance reported to the Council may attract severe penal action as per norms. The council has also recommended colleges to share internet bandwidth with students of other colleges who do not have access to internet. “Colleges or institutions are advised to allow students of other colleges or institutions in their vicinity to access their internet facility,” it said.
Colleges may also permit students of other institutions to share their campus internet Wi-Fi facility against showing the identity card of the college where they are studying. Also, the attendance regulations may be relaxed in the light of lockdown and non-availability of bandwidth in certain remote areas, the All-India Council for Technical Education added.