Around eight autonomous government colleges in Odisha have been found offering technical and professional courses without the approval of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), reported The New Indian Express.
The colleges are BJB College, Shailabala Women's College, FM College, Government College at Angul, Bhadrak College, Dhenkanal College, Maharaja Purna Chandra College and Samanta Chandra Sekhar College at Puri. The colleges have been offering two-year Master's in Business Administration (MBA) and Master's in Computer Application (MCA) courses in self-financing mode and public-private partnership mode for the last several years.
The institutions have roped in third-party educational agencies to run the courses, added TNIE.
As per the AICTE Act, 1987 and subsequent regulations laid by the council, any institution must seek and obtain its approval before initiating two-year MBA and MCA programmes (full-time). The approval is necessary to ensure the quality and standard of technical education being provided to students by the higher educational institutes.
The Higher Education Department on Saturday, December 2, pointed out that the eight autonomous colleges had been violating the AICTE regulations by running the courses without its approval.
"Operating these programmes without the necessary approval is a violation of AICTE regulations and a breach of the trust placed in educational institutions to maintain standards," it said in a letter to the principals of the colleges.
The department has directed the principals to get the necessary approval for the 2023-24 academic session and ensure the renewal of AICTE approval for consequent academic sessions.
