AICTE Lifts the Cap on Admission to “Well-Performing” Engineering Colleges

Under the condition that the standard of instruction is maintained, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has permitted “well-performing” current engineering institutes operating under its auspices to expand their student body without any upper limit. In order to prevent colleges from closing these branches, it has also allowed institutions to lower enrollment in core engineering branches by 50%. This is because many seats in these courses have remained empty over time. The council’s newly issued approval procedure manual includes these and other significant modifications. It was released on Wednesday.

The AICTE has released the approval procedure manual for the first time; it is good for three years, from 2024–2025 to 2026–2027. The manual was formerly published annually. The guidebook serves as a guide for any institution requesting permission to provide programs or courses that come within its purview.

The removal of the admission cap for courses provided by “well-performing” current institutions is one of the council’s significant adjustments. The highest number of seats that engineering colleges may have in a branch is now 240, although the maximum number of seats that could be admitted for all branches was 360.

As per the guidelines outlined in the recently implemented National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and in line with our proactive efforts to improve the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), the council has resolved to eliminate the previous intake cap for courses and programs provided by current institutions. The AICTE chairman, TG Sitharam, said that this is contingent upon the availability of facilities, its preparedness, and the filling of teaching vacancies.

The Expert Visit Committee (EVC) will be used by the council to verify faculty availability and infrastructure before approving the institution’s request for an increase in admission.

Many seats in core engineering branches have remained empty over time, prompting many schools to close these branches entirely, even though AICTE has permitted an increase in admission in engineering institutions across disciplines without a limit. In order to prevent institutions from eliminating core branches, it has permitted a decrease in seats in order to solve this problem.

The handbook stipulates that a reduction in intake up to 50% of the previously “Approved Intake” (not less than 30) will be permitted in “Core Branches” (i.e., Agriculture Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, Food Technology, Industrial Engineering, Electronics Instrumentation, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy, Mining Engineering, and Textile Engineering, etc.).

Many students nowadays believe that the most in-demand fields are computer science and upcoming technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). However, there is a need in this area throughout the industry for fundamental engineering disciplines, even if fewer students are choosing to pursue them. We want to increase this demand. Thus, it is imperative that these disciplines be offered at all of the nation’s institutions, according to Sitharam.

In an effort to increase enrollment, the AICTE requested that new colleges offer core discipline programs alongside emerging tech courses during last year’s approval process, since core engineering has been losing favor with students. The council reports that as a result of this decision, a small increase in the number of students choosing core branches occurred. In addition, it cautioned prospective applicants that in order to establish a new engineering college, they must apply for at least three core engineering courses in addition to one interdisciplinary and one region-specific course.

In yet another significant move this year, the council has chosen to “ensure coordinated development in technical and management education” by placing undergraduate (UG) Computer Applications (BCA) and Management (BBA/BMS) courses at general/non-technical institutions under the auspices of AICTE.

Officials claim that since these courses were not subject to UG regulations, a decision had to be made. Only postgraduate (PG) management and computer applications courses have been regularly offered by the AICTE so far. A top official said, “This has been done to ensure the quality of the courses being run across these institutions.”

Additionally, the council has voted to allow “well-performing” institutions to get an “Extension of Approval” for a maximum of three years, providing they fulfill the specified requirements. Presently, each technical education institution has to submit a new application for accreditation each year.