795 institutes seek approval for BVoc, D Voc

A large number of higher education institutions are set to roll out diploma and degree courses in various disciplines of vocational education from this year across the country.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has received applications from a total of 795 universities and colleges seeking its approval to offer DVoc (diploma of vocation) and BVoc (bachelor of vocation) programmes.

Out of the 795 higher education institutions seeking the technical education regulator's approval for starting the two industry-oriented vocational programmes, 55 are from Karnataka.

While a total of 28 institutions from Karnataka have applied for starting BVoc programme, 27 want to roll out DVoc courses in various specialised industry-oriented disciplines.

"These are all AICTE approved institutions. Scrutiny of their proposals is underway to grant approval for the rollout of the two courses from the academic session of 2018-19," a senior AICTE official told DH.

The list of the institutions will soon be notified once the scrutiny process is complete, he said.

While the students who have passed their Class XII board examinations will be eligible to apply for the BVoc programme, students who have cleared their Class X board examinations can apply for the DVoc course.

The institutes have applied for the AICTE's approval to start the two programmes in a total of 13 specialised areas of industry-oriented vocational education, which included software development, automotive manufacturing technology, automobile servicing, electronic manufacturing services, printing and packing technology, as well as the medical imaging technology.

"The procedure, rules and regulations for admission to the two programmes shall be as prescribed by the affiliating university or board of technical education. The state government concerned shall notify the tuition and other fees for the candidates to be admitted,"  the AICTE official said.

Institutions will admit the students to the BVoc and DVoc programmes on the basis of merit, he said.