Over 90 engineering colleges in TN face risk of de-recognition

The State monitoring committee constituted by the Higher Education Department, comprising former vice chancellors and professors, have identified 92 engineering colleges across TN that do not perform well as per the norms laid down by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The norms include providing necessary infrastructure facilities like labs, playgrounds, spacious classrooms, and adequate faculties and teaching staff.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE) has already issued warning notices to these 92 institutions, which have also continuously recorded poor academic performance in the last couple of years, said a senior official.

As per the recommendation of AICTE, four engineering colleges, including one in Chennai, were closed in 2019-20 after the accreditation was cancelled due to various issues that severely affected the students. “Many colleges do not have proper lab facilities, due to which students’ performance was very poor in the practical exams this year,” he said, adding how some engineering colleges lacked adequate number of faculty to take classes.

The poor performing engineering colleges in all districts were asked to rectify the issues, the DoTE official said, asserting that if the management of these institutions fail to do so, the certificate of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and accreditation of AICTE would be cancelled without further notice. “Also, the colleges will be forced to close the admissions for first year, and the campus will be permanently closed after second year and third year students are shifted to other colleges,” headded.

In the last five years, 52 private engineering colleges were closed in TN due to repeated poor performance. “The highest closure was in 2016-17 when 17 engineering institutions were shut down,” he added. The DoTE official also said that the State government has decided not to give permission for opening new engineering colleges in the State for at least two years. “Strict orders have been issued to stop proliferation of private engineering institutions, as more than 70,000 seats remain vacant every year,” he added.