The government has decided to amend the All Indian Council of Technical Education Act in order to restore the technical education regulator's power to approve engineering and management institutions. The decision to amend the AICTE Act has come eight months after the Supreme Court struck down the council's regulatory powers, saying colleges affiliated to a university do not come under the purview of the definition of "technical institution" as defined in AICTE Act, 1987.
Higher education secretary in HRD ministry Ashok Thakur says the amendments and the interim arrangements have received the law ministry's nod and this will restore the earlier powers of AICTE. An interim arrangement would be put in place till then where AICTE would set standards for technical institutes and universities would provide the affiliation. The institutes on their part would have to get themselves assessed by the National Board of Accreditation.
While the ruling had prompted confusion about the fate of technical education especially of the management programs, the ministry decided to bring an ordinance to undo the apex court ruling. However, the proposal dropped later on as the ministry was unsure about it being carried through.
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