To create a sizable pool of technical teachers who are also trained, on January 7, AICTE (All India Council for Technological Education) made an announcement pertaining to the National Initiative for Technical Teachers Training (NITTT). It stated that it was expanding the ambit of NTTT and it was doing so by making it accessible to those teachers with five plus years of service.  

Along with this, AICTE launched aslap.aicte-india.org. This is a portal for the Students Learning Assessment (PARAKH) programme which will be conducting assessments for both students and members of the faculty at higher education institutions and schools as well. This is based on recommendations by a Stanford University study and National Project Implementation Unit (NPIU).

When it comes to the NTTT, teachers, as part of the training exercise, will be required to serve industrial training and a semester-based mentorship. While Students Learning Assessment has over 1,45,000 assessment items encompassing various disciplines geared towards improving the overall competence of both students and graduates. This will include aptitude, core disciplines, emerging areas and a whole lot more. Over 80,000 students had registered already, out of which, 55,000 completed the assessment as part of the pilot along with 1,200 faculty members who have also undertaken the assessment.

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These programmes were launched by K Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Ministry of Education; Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE; Prof MP Poonia, Vice-Chairman, AICTE and Prof Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, AICTE.

K Sanjay Murthy appreciated AICTE while Prof Sahasrabudhe shared, "Teaching is a lifelong learning and NITTT will help teachers of today to become tomorrow’s faculty heads. Students should also come forward to take the tests through PARAKH for overall development and growth.”