Trusts running engineering colleges in the Western districts of the State where the 2022-23 admissions were far better when compared to the trend in the Southern and Central regions are understood to be in a ‘wait and watch’ mode in the wake of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) announcing its decision last month to lift the three-year moratorium on starting of new engineering colleges.
Permission for starting new engineering colleges was stopped in 2020-21 due to decreasing demand for seats. New engineering colleges, including the ones starting courses in core branches like mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering, will be allowed from the academic year 2023-24 onwards, according to the AICTE’s Approval Process Handbook 2023-24.
Managements of colleges in the Western region of Tamil Nadu are keenly studying the implications of starting new colleges since the handbook states that preference will be given to the applicant offering courses in multi-disciplinary areas in-line with NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas.
An applicant of a new college is required to have three core branches and one emerging area course. The emerging areas include Microelectronics and VLSI, Smart Mobility, EV-Technology, Transportation, Highway Engineering, Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Earth System Sciences, 5G, Sustainable Development and Circular Economy, Waste Management, Product Design, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Mobility, Analytics, Cloud Computing, Block Chain, Data Sciences, Cyber Security, 3D Printing and Design, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and Quantum Computing.
According to a senior professor of Anna University, the AICTE has relaxed land norms for the institutions, asking for greater focus on the built-up area so that institutions can offer multi-disciplinary programmes. Inclusion of 40% component of online learning is the reason cited for relaxation of land norms. The AICTE has also permitted upgrade of polytechnic colleges into colleges of engineering and technology, and conversion of existing post-graduate courses in Engineering and Technology to courses in emerging/multidisciplinary areas for the same approved intake within the major discipline.
Besides, institutions applying for closure are eligible to apply for starting a new technical institution in the same premises in the same academic year, for offering a different programme, after making amendments to the building and site plans and getting them approved by the competent authorities.
However, things may not be quite smooth for applicants of new colleges or new courses in existing institutions. The State Government has not, so far, endorsed the NEP, and it is practically impossible for the trusts to start institutions without obtaining the No-Objection Certificate from the Department of Technical Education. Hence, the hesitation on the part of the trusts, principal of an engineering college here said.
