‘Advisory role for AICTE a welcome move’

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will now play the role of only an ‘advisory’ authority, as per the recent Supreme Court ruling.

In its April 25 judgement the Supreme Court said that AICTE has no authority to issue any sanction on universities and the colleges affiliated to universities are not required to take its approval for running MBA and MCA courses.

The judgement came on a bunch of appeals filed by the Association of Management of Private Colleges in Tamil Nadu, challenging the order of Madras High Court, which had held that even though universities are not required to take permission from AICTE, its affiliated colleges are required to do so.

However, the judgment has set in motion various aspects particularly in favour of the private post-graduate colleges which run MBA and MCA courses. MBA and MCA being non-technical management courses, the AICTE had no reason to interfere with the affairs of post-graduate institutions, opined Dr M Prakash, secretary of Karnataka Private Post-graduate Colleges Association (KPPGCA).

“Lately, the AICTE’s interference in the private colleges’ affairs, specially regarding admissions for MBA and MCA courses and renewal of the courses annually, had become worrisome. Each year private institution had to cough up minimum of `4 lakhs to AICTE for renewal of approved courses. Conditions like subscription for e-journals from a particular company was made mandatory for the private institutions and the subscription cost was Rs11 lakh. Such mandates were a burden for most private institutions offering management courses,” pointed out Dr Prakash.

The KPPGCA Secretary also said that case was a long pending issue as the AICTE’s interference into the affairs of private institutions went off the mark. As many as 179 private institution with the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) affiliation and AICTE approval of courses are part of KPPGCA.

Dr H Maheshappa, Vice-chancellor of VTU, said: “The university has the powers to start post-graduate courses without the approval of AICTE. But, the private institutions, have to get the approval of AICTE for MBA and MCA courses long with the affiliation of the university for awarding of degrees.”

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