In a recently held meeting of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), new norms for granting the approval to the technical institutes were approved and as per the new guidelines, the admission process can be suspended and colleges can reduce the intake in order to adhere to student-faculty ratio and pay scale norms.
Under AICTE lies around 3000 registered engineering institutes.
AICTE took the decision because faculty members of various reputed central universities like DU, JNU and AMU are protesting against the colleges for their non-adherence to the pay scale norms of the AICTE and are also demanding to make UGC's seventh pay review committee public.
Suspension order will be issued
According to the senior AICTE official "Institutions not adhering to pay scales or qualifications prescribed for teaching staff for more than 12 months and not maintaining prescribed faculty-student ratio shall be liable to punitive actions including suspension of approval for supernumerary seats and reduction in approved intake."
He further added "the council may also decide to suspend admission in the respective courses for one academic year and withdraw approval of the course or of the institution altogether. Penal action may also be initiated against technical institutions by the AICTE for not disbursing the salary of the faculty and other staffers regularly and not adhering to timings for the colleges that operate in two shifts."
Colleges running in two shifts are subject to surprise inspection and any violation of timing and salary will lead to closure of the course.