Business Standard reports quoting officials from the Minstry of Human Resources Development that it will be mandatory for all institutes and universities to obtain the approval of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
An amendment to the UGC Act, 1950, and the AICTE Act, 1987, will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament providing the two with penal powers to be able to de-recognise an institution, take it to court, and even demand its closure if specified norms are not met. The amendment will apparently not apply in retrospect, but existing institutes and universities, which do not have approval from the AICTE or the UGC, will be asked to take one. As of now, an AICTE approval is optional. Also, a university can be set up by a state government without UGC approval as long as it does not take a grant.
Many state governments, notably the Chattisgarh State Government, have allowed private universities and instituties to be set up without UGC or AICTE approval and all these insitutes will be affected if the new amendment becomes law.
PLEASE NOTE:
Much as I would like to help all those of you looking for information on the status of recognition of particular courses, I am unable to throw any light on this. I suggest you look at
- the AICTE web site where they have published the list of Accredited Programmes in Technical Institutions (as on September 12, 2003) as well as the list of approved institutes across the country.
- the UGC web site for the list of Recognised Universities (state-wise as on November 28, 2003)
If you need any further clarifications, please contact either AICTE or the UGC and they should be able to help you.
I hope you find the links mentioned here useful.
