IISc, top deemed-to-be varsities to get AICTE nod sans on-site inspection

The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, and other top-ranking deemed-to-be-universities will get AICTE approval to continue offering undergraduate programmes in engineering disciplines without a site inspection.

The council has decided to grant approval to the engineering degree programmes of these institutions without holding any on-site inspection of their infrastructure and facilities, taking into consideration the standards and level of quality prescribed under the university grants commission's (UGC) regulations for grant of graded autonomy to the country's universities and colleges.

The move comes in the wake of a recent Supreme Court verdict which made it mandatory for all deemed-to-be-universities to get the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approval in order to offer or continue to offer degree programmes in technical education.

The apex court also restrained all deemed-to-be universities from admitting students to their engineering courses without prior approval from AICTE.

A bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, R F Nariman and U U Lalit passed its interim order on a plea by the technical education regulator in the third week of March. The next date for the hearing is May 11.

The IISc and all other deemed to be universities will have to apply for getting approval to their engineering programmes in various disciplines as per the Supreme Court order.

"To comply with the court's order, we have decided to examine the applications of the deemed-to-be universities offering technical education and grant approval to those without any on-site inspection which have been accredited by the NAAC with a grading score of 3.26 and above," a senior AICTE official told DH.

Institutions which have figured in the top 100 list of all India ranking of higher education institutions would also get approval without a site inspection.

"For others, a site inspection will be carried out to decide whether approval to their engineering programmes should be given or not," the official said.

"We will start the approval process soon," the official added.

The IISc recently emerged as the best higher education institution in the country for the second consecutive year in a row in a nationwide ranking of universities and colleges under nine categories conducted under the aegis of the human resource development (HRD) ministry.