The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has banned the opening of new engineering colleges in the country till 2024. AICTE chairman Anil Dattatreya Sahasrabuddhe said that new engineering colleges will not open in India for the next two years. The decision is taken after 45% seat vacancy reported across engineering institutes across India in 2020.
AICTE had extended the ban on new engineering institutes for two years due to a decline in admissions in the past five years. The council has received closure applications of 63 institutes, while 32 institutes applied for withdrawal of approval and a staggering 500 institutes around the country did not apply for continuation of approval for the 2021-22 academic year.
“New institute approvals have only been allowed in districts with not enough government-funded engineering institutes in order to give aspirants the option of studying closer to home. In the last two years, only government-funded new institute approvals have been accepted in order to ensure engineering seats are affordable for students,” added Sahasrabuddhe.
Experts say that the situation has improved slightly in the last few years. This year the total admission capacity of B.Tech course in the state is 1.3 lakh. At the same time, Dr. Anil Sahastrabuddhe also told that even today more than 50 percent seats are vacant in engineering colleges.
