Private technical colleges missive to State Government on autonomy norms

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) : Private engineering colleges of the State have urged the Skill Development and Technical Education Department to revise the eligibility criteria laid down for professional institutions to seek autonomous status.

In a letter to the department, Odisha Private Engineering College Association on Monday requested that the norms set by the State Government must be in sync with the guidelines of University Grants Commission (UGC).

As per the notification issued by the department, a technical education institution, to be eligible for autonomous status, needs to complete 15 years and it must have NAAC accreditation with at least A Grade.

This, the association said, is contradictory to what the UGC has laid down in its guidelines for autonomous colleges during the Eleventh Plan Period which stated that technical colleges have to complete 10 years of existence and possess at least B Grade NAAC accreditation while applying for autonomous status.

Interestingly, the Skill Development and Technical Education Department’s norms prescribe that any institution satisfying the UGC guidelines for obtaining autonomous status shall only apply which, per say, is contradictory in nature.

Secretary of the association Binod Dash said the Government must immediately reduce the tenure of minimum years of existence from 15 years to 10 years and modify the NAAC grade to B so that the notification of the State is not in contradiction with the UGC norms.

The changes, if carried out immediately, would facilitate technical institutions to seek autonomous status and benefit like it is happening in other States.

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