New Delhi: The ban on approving new engineering colleges in the country would continue.
The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to continue the ban following the recommendations of the Dr BVR Mohan Reddy committee, Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan stated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The committee, which was appointed in the wake of low enrolment rate in engineering colleges, had advised the government to temporarily freeze granting approvals to new engineering colleges and additional batches starting from 2020-21. The committee is also tasked with reviewing the status of the ban two years later.
The AICTE had also asked the committee for instructions regarding the setting up of new colleges and additional batches.
The minister, in his response, at Lok Sabha said that the committee had held three meetings on October 18, November 10 and 30 to review the present situation in engineering colleges regarding enrolment, seat capacity and job placements. He added that the committee in its interim report had advised to continue the moratorium on new engineering colleges in the country.
In the 2021–22 academic year around 23.6 lakh engineering seats were available for allotment in the country. This is the lowest in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, 26.9 lakh seats were up for grabs in 2012–12. The figure was 31.8 lakhs in 2014 – 15.
Dr Mohan Reddy was the chairman of the Board of Governance at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.