Thiruvananthapuram: The AICTE's latest proposition that engineering colleges swelling with vacant seats may start arts and science courses to overcome the crisis is unlikely to work out in favour of a majority of engineering colleges in the brink of closure in Kerala. Latest statistics show that 50% of seats in self-financing engineering colleges in the state remains vacant after the completion of admission procedure. While the state government is yet to make up its mind on the policy decisions to be taken to restore order and quality in engineering education sector, engineering college managements too have not yet been able to develop a long-term strategy for quality assurance and survival.

NEW DELHI: The All Indian Council for Technical Education(AICTE) has given a verdict regarding the existing institutions and the upcoming ones. As per AICTE there wonÔÇÖt be any new engineering colleges from the academic session 2020-2021. AICTE has even declared that it would review the new creation capacity after every two academic years.

Books by Indian authors and publishers will contextualise the engineering course content for students for better understanding, said UGC circular. Students, however, prefer foreign authors stating better content quality. Academicians ask for more technical books by Indian writers and focused incentivized initiatives from the government.

Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar has announced a 25 per cent increase in seats across educational institutions to ensure that the 10 per cent reservation recently given to the Economically Backward Section (EWS) does not disturb existing quotas for the sheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. The changes will be carried out from the 2019-2020 academic session, he told reporters at a press meet held in the national capital today.

NEW DELHI: The quota for the economically weak, which allows them 10% reservation benefit, will be implemented in all educational institutions from 2019. "10% EWS quota will be implemented in the AY 2019-20 itself, without impacting the existing quotas for SCs,STs & OBCs and general seats," said Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today in a meeting with the UGC and the AICTE. "Adequate additional seats will be created in these colleges and universities to implement the quota for EWS. The UGC and AICTE will be provided the operational mandate within a week to implement the quota," he added.

Bengaluru: One of the oldest engineering institutions in the country, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), is facing the prospect of its intake being cut by 10% every year, beginning 2019-20. Taking a serious note of the staff shortage in the institution, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is planning to reduce UVCEÔÇÖs intake by 10% in the next academic year.

Chandigarh: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has extended the affiliation of 393 techincal institutions in Punjab and 15 in Chandigarh for the 2019-20 academic session. All institutes have been asked to submit the fee by February 3, failing which the council will disaffiliate the institution concerned. On a demand by the institutions, the council has already relaxed existing affiliation norms.