States told to shut all illegal tech institutes

Unauthorised varsities can be detrimental for students

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has instructed the secretaries of technical education of all states to take immediate steps to close down institutions offering technical education without its approval.

As per chapter VII of the Approval Process Handbook 2018-19, no institution should offer a technical programme without the council’s approval.

According to AICTE, any institute started without approval and offering technical programmes or courses, shall be declared as unapproved. Institutions should seek approval of the council for the next academic session and only then offer technical programmes.

The circular released by the AICTE reads: “It has come to the notice of the council that some Institutions in various states/UTs are offering technical education which is not approved by AICTE. You may agree that permitting such unauthorised institutions to impart technical education will be detrimental to the interest of the student community in terms of recognition of the course, pursuing further education and securing employment etc.”

“In this context, it is the responsibility of the concerned state government/UT to prevent the student community falling prey to such institutions set up for monetary considerations,” it said and asked the technical education secretaries to close down such institutions.

Asked about the order, Dr Srini Bhupalam, president, All India Federation of Self-Financing Technical Institutions, said, “Though the AICTE is the Central approving authority, they need support in finding and closing these errant institutions. Obviously, state governments have ground-level information. The AICTE in the interest of time is not only supporting but also giving state governments the power to close down these unapproved deemed-to-beuniversities offering technical courser without approval in the best interests of the students.”

The TS secretary of technical education was not available for comment.