Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati Director TG Sitharam has been appointed Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), taking over from University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar who was holding interim charge of the AICTE Chairman, as stated in a report by The Indian Express.
The report stated that according to a government notification dated November 17, 2022 he will serve as the Council head for three years or before he turns 65 years old, whichever is earlier. Prior to taking charge as the Director of IIT Guwahati, he was a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, as per The Indian Express. Before that he was a chair professor in the area of Energy and Mechanical Sciences at IISc, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is approving a Bill that intends to merge AICTE and UGC into a super regulator called the Higher Education Commission of India, according to the report. The single higher education regulator plan has moved back and forth several times but has finally been approved in the new National Education Policy (NEP). Plans had been in place to introduce a single higher education regulator in the country to replace other bodies such as the UGC, AICTE, and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). Former HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had confirmed last year that discussions had been ongoing in this regard.
