Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/aicte-revised-rules-for-engineering-education-7844398/
AICTE has issued revised norms on engineering education for the next academic year. What changes have been made?
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which regulates technical education in the country, Tuesday issued revised norms on engineering education for the next academic year.
Norms revised: Physics, Maths a must to pursue engineering, tech UG courses
The previous
norms had left the question of mandatory subject combinations on the
universities and engineering institutes, making it technically possible
for those who may not have studied Physics and Maths at the higher
secondary level to pursue UG degree courses in engineering and
technology.
Admissions to most engineering and technology undergraduate degree
programmes will require students to have mandatorily pursued Physics and
Mathematics at the high school level, the All Indian Council for
Technical Education (AICTE) announced on Tuesday, in what is being seen
as a partial rollback of the eligibility norms it released last year.
The previous norms had left the question of mandatory subject
combinations on the universities and engineering institutes, making it
technically possible for those who may not have studied Physics and
Maths at the higher secondary level to pursue UG degree courses in
engineering and technology.
Last year, speaking to The Indian Express
after the norms were issued, Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay
Raghavan and former head of Defence Research and Development
Organisation V K Saraswat had urged caution over the AICTE’s move to
offer flexibility to admit students without Maths and Physics in high
school and offer them remedial bridge courses to cope in class. The
issue had also come up at a meeting of NITI Aayog following which the
AICTE had agreed to define the engineering branches to which this
flexibility will be applicable.
According to the AICTE ‘Approval Process Handbook’ 2022-23 released on
Tuesday, at least 18 out of 29 recognised engineering and technology
degree courses – including Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Textile Engineering – at the UG level have Physics and
Maths listed as “mandatory at 10+2 level” against their names.
The third subject can be anything from among Chemistry, Computer
Science, Electronics, Information Technology, Biology, Informatics
Practices, Biotechnology, Technical Vocational subject, Agriculture,
Engineering Graphics, Business Studies, Entrepreneurship.
As many as 15 courses require a student to have studied Physics,
Chemistry and Mathematics in high school. However, a student who may not
have studied Maths, but had Physics and Chemistry in school, can still
pursue Agriculture Engineering, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical
Engineering and Printing Engineering under the revised norms.
Only UG courses in architecture, packaging technology, and fashion
technology courses have no compulsory subject combination requirements.
The overall scores of the students in three subjects will still need
to be at least 45 per cent (general) and 40 per cent (reserved
categories) to be eligible for admissions.
Till the 2019-20 academic session, engineering aspirants should have
cleared school with Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects. The
third subject could have been one from among Chemistry, Biotechnology,
Biology and Technical Vocational subject.
Last year, the AICTE attributed its move to do away with the
mandatory subject combinations. It was also described as a push for
interdisciplinary education that the National Education Policy (NEP)
2020 envisages. NEP provision on multiple entry and exit in four-year B
Tech or BE degrees has also been defined by the AICTE under the revised
norms.
Among other highlights of the handbook is introduction of a
supernumerary quota in polytechnic institutions for Covid-orphans
covered under the PM-CARES scheme. Accordingly, two seats per institute
will be reserved for applicants falling under this category.
