MOHALI: “To make over 35 lakh youth studying in over 10, 000 All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved Institutes of the Country more skilled and industry oriented, AICTE would make major revamping in its curriculum”
This was told by Dr. M.P Poonia, Vice Chairman, AICTE, New Delhi to the delegation of Federation of Self Financing Technical Institutions (FSFTI) in a meeting which was led by Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, FSFTI. The meeting was also attended by delegates of other States including Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala etc.
Dr. M.P Poonia while giving more details about the programs said that AICTE is emphasizing on revamping Engineering Syllabus to meet Industry needs. More reforms like Internship programs, Start ups & Entrepreneurship, Accreditation of the Institutions, Induction Program for the Teachers, Model Exam Format etc would be strengthened.
Model Curriculum & Internship programs :
Under the revised curriculum, the number of credits required for theory has been reduced to 160 from 220. It has also been made mandatory that 14 out of 160 credits will be for summer internship. The new curriculum focuses more on practical by engaging students with laboratory assignments rather than on theory. Under the new curriculum, it will be mandatory for the students to intern in the industry for about two to three months, even during the summer vacation, to enable them acquire the skills required for job.
Start ups & Entrepreneurship:
Dr. M.P Poonia said that AICTE has been focusing on making students set up their own businesses rather than be job seekers by promoting activities such as incubation centre to promote entrepreneurship such as giving funds for SC/ST students to start their own businesses. AICTE has also started having courses on entrepreneurship which have been adopted widely.
Accreditation of Institutions:
AICTE has also decided that by 2022, at least 50 per cent of all the programmes in technical institutions have to get their accreditation from the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) otherwise the AICTE approval of the Institute will be cancelled. At present, around 10 per cent of the programmes are accredited in India.
Induction Program for Teachers:
AICTE is setting up four teacher training academies i.e Academy of Teaching and Learning (ATAL) in the country at Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Baroda and Jaipur which will equip candidates with the latest changes in technical education. The academies will produce "motivated teachers, who will be conversant with fast changing technology in the technical education sector
Model Exam Format:
AICTE will soon release the provision of a model exam format to technical education institutes for testing the conceptual knowledge of children. “The final exams being conducted by the institutions shall test the understanding of the concepts and the skill - rather than the subject knowledge” added Dr. M.P Poonia.