COIMBATORE: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Council of Architecture (COA) are on a collision course as to which of the two governs architecture colleges in the country. While, the AICTE has declared 116 architecture colleges across the country, including 25 in Tamil Nadu as unapproved, the COA claims they are under its control.
According to the AICTE’s recent list of unapproved architecture colleges functioning in the country published on its website, a total of 116 B Arch colleges across the country, including 25 from Tamil Nadu, are functioning without its approval.
Interestingly, 21 out of the 25 B Arch colleges from Tamil Nadu are affiliated to the Anna University, Chennai.
While these colleges had got approval from the COA, the AICTE’s contention is that architecture is a technical program and colleges offering these courses should get prior approval from it.
However, COA president Uday C Gadkari said the AICTE had nothing to do with these architecture colleges. “Only the Council of Architecture can approve architecture colleges and sanction their intake. The AICTE can control other technical institutions except architecture. Even the Supreme Court has restrained that the AICTE from exercising control over architecture colleges,” he added.
But AICTE chairman S S Mantha countered him saying that B Arch colleges came under the purview of the AICTE.
“We will write to the State governments to take necessary action against colleges which do not have the AICTE’s approval and are continuing to admit students and functioning,” he added.
Sources in the AICTE claimed that some architecture colleges which had earlier obtained its approval to offer B Arch courses had now applied to the council for renewal.