The Maharashtra government, in a submission to the Bombay high court, has said that more than half the private institutions offering technical programmes in the state, and declared unapproved by the country’s apex education regulator, actually have the state’s approval—directly or indirectly.
The state government’s submission could weaken the stance of The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and its ability to clamp down on unapproved programmes. “All technical courses need the approval of the AICTE,” said K. Narayana Rao, AICTE’s member secretary. “After AICTE approval, degree courses need affiliation of the state universities,” he added.
Not according to Maharashtra, though. Officials of the state government could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.
The state government, in its filing to the court, added that some of the institutions are run by the industry and offer courses in areas such as retail management and aviation management where there is an increased demand for trained people.
It said that AICTE, the state-level regulator of technical education, as well as institutions that have their approval, were slow in responding to the emerging needs of industry.
AICTE says that any programme in technical education, including engineering & technology, management, computer applications, architecture, pharmacy, hotel management, and applied arts, offered by institutions either on their own or in collaboration with a foreign university or institution, needs its approval.
In March, AICTE put up on its website a list of 169 institutions that it said were running “courses in the field of technical education without obtaining AICTE approval” and 124 others that were “conducting technical education programmes in collaboration with foreign universities without AICTE approval”.
Of the 169 institutions offering courses without AICTE’s approval, 84 are in Maharashtra. However, according to an expert committee appointed by the state government, 49 of the 84 have some approval from or affiliation with a state-approved university or the state’s technical education board itself. Thus, these 49 have some kind of state approval. The expert committee’s report makes it clear that Maharashtra does not consider it necessary for these institutions to seek AICTE’s approval.
It finds only 14 of the 84 colleges “unauthorized” and recommends that they be closed down. It has identified another three colleges as those against which “criminal action” needs to be initiated.