In India, there is a major share of technical education contributing to the overall education system. It is imparted at various levels like certificate, diploma, degree, post graduate diploma, post graduate degree, research and post doctoral research.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is the statutory body established in November 1945 for proper planning and coordinating the development of the technical education system in India. At present, there are 1,346 engineering colleges in India approved by the All India Council of Technical Education with the seating capacity of 4,40,000. The AICTE Headquarters is located at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Indraprastha Estate, New Delhi, along with the offices of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the Member Secretary. There are seven regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Bangalore. The main functions of the AICTE include the coordination for development of technical education, the promotion of qualitative improvement in technical education and the maintenance of norms and standards in technical education. Its functions also include funding in priority areas, monitoring and evaluation, maintaining parity of certification and awards and ensuring coordinated and integrated development and management of technical education in the country as part of the AICTE Act No. 52 of 1987. The Council has set up a National Board of Accreditation (NBA) under Clause 10(u) of the AICTE Act, in order to periodically evaluate the technical programmes on the basis of prescribed guidelines, norms and standards. It aims to maintain the level of some of the programs offered in technical Institutions on par with the programs offered in Institutions across USA and Europe, by inducing a quality auditing system and establishing a datum for measuring the quality and excellence in engineering education. AICTE also grants approval to new technical institutions and to new courses and programs in consultation with the agencies concerned.
The current objective of AICTE to modify the engineering curriculum is as follows.
- Greater emphasis on design oriented teaching, teaching of design methodologies, problem solving approach.
- Greater exposure to industrial and manufacturing processes.
- Exclusion of outmoded technologies and inclusion of the new appropriate and emerging technologies.
- Greater input of management education and professional communication skills.
There are nine Bureaus of AICTE with each Bureau having an Adviser who is the Head of the Bureau and assisted by many other technical officers and supporting staff. There are also multidiscipline technical officers and staffs on deputation or on contract from various Government Departments, University Grants Commission, and academic institutions. The nine Bureaus of AICTE are given below.
- Faculty Development (FD) Bureau
- Undergraduate Education (UG) Bureau
- Postgraduate Education and Research (PGER) Bureau
- Quality Assurance (QA) Bureau
- Planning and Co-ordination (PC) Bureau
- Research and Institutional Development (RID) Bureau
- Administration (Admin) Bureau
- Finance (Fin) Bureau
- Academic (Acad) Bureau
