AICTE may close down colleges with low intake

Thiruvananthapuram: The All-India Council for Technical Education may close down the colleges that failed to fill up to 30 per cent of their total number of seats, according to Mr Anil Sahasrabudhe, AICTE  chairman.  The AICTE is studying the cases of such colleges with  poor intake  for the last three to four years.   The increase in colleges and the fall in enrolment have affected the quality of education.  The AICTE has suggested to change the teacher-student ratio from 1:15 to 1:20. Mr Sahasrabudhe was in Thiruvananthapuram  recently for the students’ induction programme of the engineering colleges.

It is a three-week course to sensitise students to the challenges facing the country besides helping them develop inter-personal skills, upgrade their English proficiency and improve soft skills. The faculty members will also undergo a six-week  programme. These are aimed at increasing the employability and job skills of the students.  Many of them have opted for courses other than engineering as the pass percentage and employability have come down in recent years. As a result, many seats remain vacant in self-financing engineering colleges.