COIMBATORE: In a major decision, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to grant approval for a period of three years to colleges which have valid autonomous status or having at least 50 percent of their courses accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
Presently, all existing technical institutions including engineering and technology and management colleges require getting their approval renewed by the All India Council for Technical Education every year. Shifting from this over a decade old practice, the All India Council for Technical Education has now decided to give approval for three years.
Colleges which have valid autonomous status conferred by the affiliating university, Anna University in the case of Tamil Nadu, or having at least half of their courses accredited by NBA will now be given approval for a period of three years or the academic year up to which autonomy status or NBA accreditation is valid.
“These institutions will be exempted from paying processing fee for extension of approval. But they have to submit institutional information like faculty and students on AICTE portal,” said an AICTE official.
Welcoming this, TD Eswaramoorthy, joint secretary of the Association of Management of Coimbatore Anna University Affiliated College said, this will reduce unnecessary tension, as majority of the engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have sufficient building and laboratory facilities.
Apart from this, the AICTE has also decided to relax its norms pertaining land requirement. The minimum land required for engineering and technology programme is now revised as 1.5 acres in mega and metro cities like Greater Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Surat, 2.5 acres in urban areas and 7.5 acres in rural areas. Previously it was 2.5 acres in urban and 10 acres in rural areas.
In addition to this, the AICTE has also decided to approve technical institute in urban area, even if it is on at most two contiguous pieces of land, one of them being at least 1.5 acres for accommodating academic, administrative and essential amenities and other one being separated by not more than two kms, can be utilized for sporting infrastructure, hostel, staff accommodation and related education activities of the institution. This move is expected to help those interested in starting new technical institutions in urban areas and metro cities.