Several engineering colleges run the risk of losing AICTE affiliation

As the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) has observed that several colleges lack basic infrastructure and their laboratories are well below the standards prescribed for which the number of seats in engineering colleges may go down further this academic year.

As many as 40 engineering colleges across the state may not make the cut and get the affiliation as their labs lack basic infrastructure. The university has issued notices to such colleges and directed them to setup labs in place within 10 days.

“During inspection by the fact-finding committee, it came to light that many engineering colleges do not have proper laboratories. The labs which they have are way below the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) standards and unless the colleges take immediate steps and improve the infrastructure, they are not going to make the cut,” said an official of JNTU-H.

“The colleges have been informed and given ten days of time to make an appeal. If they don’t act even after the stipulated time, they may not get AICTE affiliation,” he added.
The closure of these colleges in that scenario will not only cut down the number of engineering seats in the state but also jeopardize the career of students who are studying at these colleges for they won’t be able to appear for examinations if the colleges fail to get affiliation.
Apart from these 40, another 58 colleges have decided against applying for renewal of affiliation for 2016-17.

Interestingly, despite knowing that a college’s affiliation to university is mandatory for its students to appear for examinations, award of degrees and for running the courses, these 58 colleges have neither applied for closure nor bothered to take affiliation even for their existing students.

AICTE had set stringent norms for granting approvals for the coming academic year.
“We have formed an inquiry committee and have taken the views of colleges for opting against applying for affiliation. We will send a consolidated report to the AICTE as well as the state government so that they can make a decision on the future of these colleges,” he added further.