New Delhi: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is likely to promote emerging new technology courses like AI( Artificial Intelligence), Robotics, 3D printings & Designs, Blockchain, Quantum Computing, Data Sciences, Cybersecurities in engineering colleges in the country.
Top monitoring body of technical education in the country is going to reduce the number of seats in traditional engineering programmes like mechanical, electrical, civil and electonics. Instead, it is proposing to encourage the technical institution to introduce new age technology courses. The AICTE is considering a proposal to ban opening of new engineering colleges in India.
The AICTE, in fact, seized of the BVR Moahan Reddy Committee report which has said that the current capacity utilisation in traditional disciplines just 40% as against 60% seats occupancy in branches such as computer science, aerospace and mechatronics. So, it is time that the AICTE should encourage the institutes to introduce emergin new technology courses. The 41-page report by Reddy Committee has also suggested that AICTE should stop setting up of new colleges from 2020 and review the creation of new capacity every two years after that.
In 2016-17, there was no takers for 51% of 15.5 lakh BE/B.Tech seats in 3, 291 engineering colleges in the country. The AICTE reduced the intake in courses with poor admissions by half from the academic year 2018-19. With this the total number of B.Tech and M.Tec seats this year in AICTE approved engineering colleges dropped by 1.67 lakh.