While the Draft Education Policy promises an overhaul in the education system, AICTE has come up with recommendations too to address the issues of capacity utilization and employability of graduates. The 'Short and Medium Term Perspectives' acknowledge the gap between engineering education and industry demands and has made several recommendations which range from change in the teaching pedagogy to industry interaction.
No Increase In Student-Intake From 2020
An important recommendation involves no further increase in seats in engineering colleges and institutes. Citing low capacity utilization, 49.8% (Capacity Vs. Enrollment), AICTE has recommended that no new capacity be created starting from the 2020 academic year. The creation of new capacity can be reviewed every two years after that.
Addressing the issue of applications which may already be in place for capacity enhancement, AICTE says that 'applications made in the current year and the past two years may be considered for starting institutions if the infrastructure is already in place.'
No Additional Seats In Civil, Mechanical
The report cites that enrollment in traditional engineering disciplines like Mechanical, and Civil is less in comparison to emerging technologies such as Computer Science and Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics etc.
AICTE recommends that no additional seats be approved in traditional engineering areas, and that institutions should be encouraged to convert current capacity in traditional disciplines to emerging new technologies.
Improvement In Quality Of Teachers
AICTE has suggested training existing teachers at teachers training institutes, using quality improvement programs (QIP) and using IIT/NIT faculty and infrastructure. The Council has also suggested that focused industry visits for faculty should be mandatory for hands-on exposure to the latest technologies.
To improve pedagogy, AICTE has recommended that a certification/ diploma/ degree in education be made mandatory for engineering faculty.
Academia-Industry Interaction
Identifying the importance of interaction between academia and industry in employability of graduates, the council has recommended that two industry representatives should be part of the advisory board of each institution.
To create an ecosystem of sustained industry-academia engagement, 20 National Knowledge Functional Hubs (NKFH), as a pilot, should be instituted in AICTE approved institutions.
Some other important recommendations include open-book examination to 'move students to higher order cognitive skills', and Entrepreneurship as a minor elective for undergraduates.
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