Technical Education
by Smt. S. Vishwanathan, *Freelance Writer
The changing economic scenario through out the world has made several developing countries
including India to give utmost importance to technical education. India has taken crucial steps to
pursue quality in technical education in order to achieve planned growth. Special efforts are being
undertaken to inculcate competitiveness and quality in technically qualified human resources to make
it globally acceptable. Such type of education will improve the quality of life of the economically
weaker sections of society.
Realising the importance of education and to utilise the 500 million odd youth in the country,
targets have been fixed in the 11th Five Year Plan. Education will get increased allocation,
from 8 percent of the budget to 30 percent paving the way for setting up of more institutions for
technical education which will yield more jobs. The Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh said:
the plan’s focus is on the most marginalised sections of society. The goal of this five year plan
is to invest in our people to enable them to become active participants in economic growth process.
The Union Cabinet has recently, approved setting up of eight Indian Institutes of Technology(IIT)
in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and at Indore in
Madhya Pradesh at a total cost of Rs.6080 crore (@ Rs.760 crore per IIT). It has also given
approval for taking over the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University – a constituent unit
of the Banaras Hindu University, a Central University, its conversion into an Indian Institute of
Technology and integrating it with the IIT system in the country. With the creation of new IITs,
high quality technical education will become accessible to bright students. So far, hardly two per
cent of about three lakh students who appear in the joint entrance examination gets admissions
in them.
A UN report on world youth says, because of their sheer size, the 1.2 billion youth are an essential and critical part of the development process. The report further says that because of poverty and sometimes because of social and cultural constraints many youth are excluded from decent employment and other resources and services.
In order to give importance to technical education in India, the National Policy of Education and Programme of Action 1986,emphasised the need for revamping this sector. The All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE), has been given statutory powers through an act of parliament to promote qualitative improvement of such education. The council has initiated several measures for planning, formulation and maintenance of norms and standards, capacity building, accreditation, funding of priority areas, programmes providing access, equality and quality in the field of technical education. So far, these efforts have yielded desired results. The number of recipients in the recent years has increased manifolds. The total intake capacity in AICTE approved institutions in 2006-07 was about six and a half lakh students in the 1617 undergraduate degree Engineering Institutions.
India’s efforts have been recognised by the signatories of the Washington Accord in this field and they have approved provisional membership to All India Council For Technical Education giving a further boost to India’s efforts. This means more job opportunities for the technically qualified in other countries as well. This also means that India needs to benchmark best practices and build national competitiveness. However, this requires a thorough revamping of the entire technical system with full involvement and empowerment of stakeholders.
Keeping this in mind, a two day conference was held in the capital on Development of Technical Education in India in the month of December last year all the speakers stressed the need to improve quality and accessibility. Technical sessions were held to discuss seven major areas. These include:
· Access, equity and inclusion
· Quality assurance and Washington Accord
· Academic reforms and curriculum framework, credit system and evaluation
· Faculty development
· Industry institute interface including public-private partnership and
· Role of ALCTE in the changing global competitiveness.
Coordinated development of technical education system has proved to be a stepping stone for thousands of young people who had no access to regular education. If this section is left out, as the prime minister said, there will be no overall growth in the country. India has plenty of human resources and to make them globally acceptable a well organised, quality technical education is needed and that is what India is striving for.
Today India is in a position to lead the way for many developing countries. The association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Non-aligned Movement member countries and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations are already making efforts to coordinate with each other in the field of technical education. Some countries have send their manpower to train youth in different vocational fields. India is also taking advantage of this and has sent technically qualified people to other countries to receive training. Besides these groupings, the Gulf Nations have shown interest in getting training from India as hundreds of qualified Indians are working in the region. Education is a priority for India and it will remain so till the last youth in the country is qualified in vocational fields as it will also pave the way for eliminating completely the rural- urban divide. Education for all is the buzz word as India wants to take the people together on the path of growth and development. The concept of inclusive growth will cover the entire country and it will lead to reduction of poverty in the long-run.
Rapid transformation in Technical Education in India
by - Ashok Thakur, Additional Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development
India has the potential to be a global technology leader. Its economy has been growing at the rate of 9% per year. The industry has also become globally competitive in several sectors and can increase its global market share. A critical factor in this will be the success of the technical education system in the nation.
The investment made in higher education in the 1950s and 1960s has given us a strong knowledge base in many fields and contributed significantly to economic development, social progress and political democracy in independent India. At the time of Independence, the number of universities was no more than 20, of colleges around 500 and the total enrolment was less than 1.0 lakh. By the end of the X Plan, the Indian higher education system has grown into one of the largest in the world with 5818 technical institutions with an intake capacity of 11,18,810 students.
Expansion, inclusion and rapid improvement in quality throughout the higher and technical education system by enhancing public spending, encouraging private initiatives and initiating the long overdue major institutional and policy reforms will form the core of the Eleventh plan effort.
Our GER of around 11% is very low compared to the world average of 23.2%, 36.5% for countries in transition, 54.6% for Asian countries. We should aim to increase the GER to 21% by the end of the Twelfth Plan with an interim target of 15% by 2011-12.
The main objective of Indian Institutes of Tech is to impart world class education in engineering and technology. The Government has decided to set up 8 new IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat during the XI Plan Period. It is also proposed to convert the Institute of Technology, BHU into an IIT. An allocation of Rs. 2000 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 50 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
B.Tech Courses in three branches with a limited batch of about 120 first year students, have started from the academic session of 2008-09 in the 6 new IITs being set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat and these will be mentored by the existing IITs of Madras, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
The State Governments have been requested to identify the suitable sites for setting up of the new IITs which is likely to be finalized soon.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are institutions of excellence, established with the objectives of imparting high quality management education and training conducting research and providing consultancy services in the field of management to various sectors of the Indian economy. Seven new IIMs are proposed, out of which, the IIM at Shillong has commenced its academic session from 2008-09 with an initial intake of 64 students based on CAT 2007 score.
The remaining six IIMs will be located in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana. Several State Government have identified land for the campuses and the same will be finalized soon after the Site Selection Committee visits the them shortly
Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed.CIL) has been requested to prepare a Model DPR for all the new IIMs.
An allocation of Rs. 600 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 10 crore has been allocated for the year 2008-09.
The Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM), under the Chairmanship of Prof. C.N.R.Rao, recommended creation of five new institutions devoted to science education and research to be named “Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research” broadly on the lines of IISc., Bangalore. 3 IISERs at Mohali, Pune and Kolkata have already been functioning and two more at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will start their classes this year in the month of August.
An allocation of Rs. 2000 crores has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 150 crores has been allocated for 2008-09 for 5 IISERs.
In order to develop manpower for different areas of the knowledge economy, education and training of information technology is a core prerequisite. The Central Government has established four IIITs at Allahabad, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Kanchipuram. 20 more IIITs are proposed under the PPP mode. NASSCOM has very recently submitted its model Project Report, which is being sent to the State Governments and to the concerned Ministries in the Government of India for inter-ministerial consultations.
The setting up of IIITs in PPP mode has been discussed with the State Education Ministers in the national conference held on 23rd and 24th July 2008 under the Chairmanship of HRM. Most of the States were agreed to tap not for profit private investment, ensuring that PPP should not lead to any erosion of access to poor sections of society.
The IIIT at Kanchipuram has started functioning from its temporary campus at IIT Madras since the last academic session in 2007.
An allocation of Rs. 400 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 30 crores has been allocated for 2008-09.
SPA provides undergraduate and post-graduate education and training in the fields of architecture, planning, design and management of different aspects of human habitat and environment. Two schools of Planning & Architecture are to be set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada.
The State Governments had offered about 100 acres of land each in Bhopal and Vijayawada, free of cost. However, it is proposed to start the academic session in both the new SPAs through temporary campuses by taking suitable accommodation on rent from this academic session of 2008. While the NIT Bhopal will mentor the new SPA at Bhopal, SPA at Vijayawada will be mentored by SPA, Delhi.
* An allocation of Rs. 250 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 15 crores has been allocated for 2008-09.
In pursuance of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s speech on Independence Day in 2007, to launch a mission on vocational education and skill development, the Department of Higher Education had prepared a scheme on Sub-Mission of Polytechnics under National Skill Development Mission. Under Sub-Mission of Polytechnics, it is proposed to take up the following four components:-
Setting up of 1000 polytechnics (300 in Government Sectors, 300 through PPP mode and 400 private polytechnics;
Strengthening of existing 500 polytechnics;
Construction of women’s hostel in 500 polytechnics;
Revamping of the Community Polytechnics scheme and increasing their number from 669 to 1000.
The Expenditure Finance Committee in its meeting held on 28th May, 2008 has approved the above proposal. An allocation of Rs. 6310 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 141.5 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
It is proposed to give scholarships, based on merit, at the rate of Rs. 1000 per month for the first 3 years and after that Rs. 2000 per month for the balance period of the professional or other courses in Higher Education to non-creamy layer students to the extent of about 2% of the student population who pass out from various intermediate boards. It is proposed to cover every year about 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls under the above scheme.
An amount of Rs. 1000 crores has been provided for in the XI Plan allocations for this scheme and Rs. 50 crore is allocated for 2008-09.
A proposal to introduce a Central Sector scheme for providing interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the educational loans taken by students belonging to “non-creamy” layer for pursuing professional education in India under the revised Model Educational Loan Scheme formulated by the Indian Banks’ Association has been under consideration of the Government.
A provision of Rs. 4000 crore has been provided in the XI Plan for this proposed scheme and Rs. 2 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
Under this Mission, it is proposed to network each of the Departments of about 400 university level institutions & 20000 colleges through broadband connectivity and make available suitable e-learning material. State Governments have to share 25% of the cost of providing broadband connectivity to the institutions under their control. Private institutions will have to share 25% of the cost of providing the broadband connectivity.
States have also been consulted on this issue during the conference of the States Education Ministers’ by the Human Resource Development Minister (HRM) held on 23rd and 24th July 2008 and have agreed for above proposal.
The main aim of setting up NITs is to create the required technical manpower by providing undergraduate education and training in different branches of engineering & technology. At present there are 20 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) which are fully funded by the Central Government. NIT Act 2007, which came into effect from 15.8.2007, has declared these NITs as Institutes of National Importance.
In the XIth Plan period, it is proposed to establish 10 new NITs. Probable location of these NITs will be in States/UTs, which at present don’t have an NIT. MHRD will consider establishing NITs in Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The NIT at Goa may also cater to the needs of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.
Pudducherry or Andaman & Nicobar may have one common NIT, which will cater the needs of each others.
For establishing new NITs, States/UTs are required to provide 300 acres of land, at a place having road, rail and air connectivity.
India has the potential to be a global technology leader. Its economy has been growing at the rate of 9% per year. The industry has also become globally competitive in several sectors and can increase its global market share. A critical factor in this will be the success of the technical education system in the nation.
The investment made in higher education in the 1950s and 1960s has given us a strong knowledge base in many fields and contributed significantly to economic development, social progress and political democracy in independent India. At the time of Independence, the number of universities was no more than 20, of colleges around 500 and the total enrolment was less than 1.0 lakh. By the end of the X Plan, the Indian higher education system has grown into one of the largest in the world with 5818 technical institutions with an intake capacity of 11,18,810 students.
Prevalence of Low General Enrolment Ratio
Despite the expansion that has occurred, it is evident that the system is under stress to provide a sufficient volume of skilled human power, equipped with the required knowledge and technical skills to cater to the demands of the economy. The accelerated growth of our economy has already created shortages of high quality technical manpower. The demographic advantages of a young population can only be realised if we can expand opportunities for our youth on a massive scale and in diverse fields of basic science, engineering and technology, healthcare, architecture, management etc.Expansion, inclusion and rapid improvement in quality throughout the higher and technical education system by enhancing public spending, encouraging private initiatives and initiating the long overdue major institutional and policy reforms will form the core of the Eleventh plan effort.
Our GER of around 11% is very low compared to the world average of 23.2%, 36.5% for countries in transition, 54.6% for Asian countries. We should aim to increase the GER to 21% by the end of the Twelfth Plan with an interim target of 15% by 2011-12.
Expansion of Technical Education with Quality
As on August 31, 2007, the annual intake of technical education institutions at Degree and Diploma levels, as approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), was 9.08 lakh and 3.95 lakh respectively. To further increase this intake several new initiatives have been undertaken in the sector of technical education in the XI Five year Plan. The following expansion is proposed without letting the brand value of these institutions get diluted :Eight New Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
The main objective of Indian Institutes of Tech is to impart world class education in engineering and technology. The Government has decided to set up 8 new IITs in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat during the XI Plan Period. It is also proposed to convert the Institute of Technology, BHU into an IIT. An allocation of Rs. 2000 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 50 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
B.Tech Courses in three branches with a limited batch of about 120 first year students, have started from the academic session of 2008-09 in the 6 new IITs being set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat and these will be mentored by the existing IITs of Madras, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
The State Governments have been requested to identify the suitable sites for setting up of the new IITs which is likely to be finalized soon.
Seven New Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are institutions of excellence, established with the objectives of imparting high quality management education and training conducting research and providing consultancy services in the field of management to various sectors of the Indian economy. Seven new IIMs are proposed, out of which, the IIM at Shillong has commenced its academic session from 2008-09 with an initial intake of 64 students based on CAT 2007 score.
The remaining six IIMs will be located in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana. Several State Government have identified land for the campuses and the same will be finalized soon after the Site Selection Committee visits the them shortly
Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed.CIL) has been requested to prepare a Model DPR for all the new IIMs.
An allocation of Rs. 600 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 10 crore has been allocated for the year 2008-09.
Five Indian Institute of Science, Education & Research (IISERs)
The Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM), under the Chairmanship of Prof. C.N.R.Rao, recommended creation of five new institutions devoted to science education and research to be named “Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research” broadly on the lines of IISc., Bangalore. 3 IISERs at Mohali, Pune and Kolkata have already been functioning and two more at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will start their classes this year in the month of August.
An allocation of Rs. 2000 crores has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 150 crores has been allocated for 2008-09 for 5 IISERs.
Twenty Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
In order to develop manpower for different areas of the knowledge economy, education and training of information technology is a core prerequisite. The Central Government has established four IIITs at Allahabad, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Kanchipuram. 20 more IIITs are proposed under the PPP mode. NASSCOM has very recently submitted its model Project Report, which is being sent to the State Governments and to the concerned Ministries in the Government of India for inter-ministerial consultations.
The setting up of IIITs in PPP mode has been discussed with the State Education Ministers in the national conference held on 23rd and 24th July 2008 under the Chairmanship of HRM. Most of the States were agreed to tap not for profit private investment, ensuring that PPP should not lead to any erosion of access to poor sections of society.
The IIIT at Kanchipuram has started functioning from its temporary campus at IIT Madras since the last academic session in 2007.
An allocation of Rs. 400 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 30 crores has been allocated for 2008-09.
Two Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs)
SPA provides undergraduate and post-graduate education and training in the fields of architecture, planning, design and management of different aspects of human habitat and environment. Two schools of Planning & Architecture are to be set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada.
The State Governments had offered about 100 acres of land each in Bhopal and Vijayawada, free of cost. However, it is proposed to start the academic session in both the new SPAs through temporary campuses by taking suitable accommodation on rent from this academic session of 2008. While the NIT Bhopal will mentor the new SPA at Bhopal, SPA at Vijayawada will be mentored by SPA, Delhi.
* An allocation of Rs. 250 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 15 crores has been allocated for 2008-09.
Setting up of new Polytechnics
In pursuance of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s speech on Independence Day in 2007, to launch a mission on vocational education and skill development, the Department of Higher Education had prepared a scheme on Sub-Mission of Polytechnics under National Skill Development Mission. Under Sub-Mission of Polytechnics, it is proposed to take up the following four components:-
Setting up of 1000 polytechnics (300 in Government Sectors, 300 through PPP mode and 400 private polytechnics;
Strengthening of existing 500 polytechnics;
Construction of women’s hostel in 500 polytechnics;
Revamping of the Community Polytechnics scheme and increasing their number from 669 to 1000.
The Expenditure Finance Committee in its meeting held on 28th May, 2008 has approved the above proposal. An allocation of Rs. 6310 crore has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs. 141.5 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
Scholarship for College and University students
It is proposed to give scholarships, based on merit, at the rate of Rs. 1000 per month for the first 3 years and after that Rs. 2000 per month for the balance period of the professional or other courses in Higher Education to non-creamy layer students to the extent of about 2% of the student population who pass out from various intermediate boards. It is proposed to cover every year about 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls under the above scheme.
An amount of Rs. 1000 crores has been provided for in the XI Plan allocations for this scheme and Rs. 50 crore is allocated for 2008-09.
Review of functioning of UGC and AICTE
A Committee has been set up on 30/4/08 under the Chairmanship of Prof. Yash Pal, former UGC Chairman, to review the role and functioning of UGC and AICTE. The Committee has started functioning and has held several meetings.Summer Training of Teachers
With a view to improve the quality and standard of teaching by the faculty, in this summer i.e. in June and July 2008, 10,000 faculty members of the Engineering Institutions and 5,000 faculty members of the University system teaching basic/social sciences, are being given summer training/refresher courses to improve their domain knowledge as well as pedagogy. The refresher/summer training courses on the technical subjects are being given in the IITs, NITs, NITTTRs etcEducation Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme
A proposal to introduce a Central Sector scheme for providing interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the educational loans taken by students belonging to “non-creamy” layer for pursuing professional education in India under the revised Model Educational Loan Scheme formulated by the Indian Banks’ Association has been under consideration of the Government.
A provision of Rs. 4000 crore has been provided in the XI Plan for this proposed scheme and Rs. 2 crore has been allocated for 2008-09.
National Education Mission through ICT
Under this Mission, it is proposed to network each of the Departments of about 400 university level institutions & 20000 colleges through broadband connectivity and make available suitable e-learning material. State Governments have to share 25% of the cost of providing broadband connectivity to the institutions under their control. Private institutions will have to share 25% of the cost of providing the broadband connectivity.
States have also been consulted on this issue during the conference of the States Education Ministers’ by the Human Resource Development Minister (HRM) held on 23rd and 24th July 2008 and have agreed for above proposal.
National Institutes of Technology (NITs)
The main aim of setting up NITs is to create the required technical manpower by providing undergraduate education and training in different branches of engineering & technology. At present there are 20 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) which are fully funded by the Central Government. NIT Act 2007, which came into effect from 15.8.2007, has declared these NITs as Institutes of National Importance.
In the XIth Plan period, it is proposed to establish 10 new NITs. Probable location of these NITs will be in States/UTs, which at present don’t have an NIT. MHRD will consider establishing NITs in Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The NIT at Goa may also cater to the needs of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.
Pudducherry or Andaman & Nicobar may have one common NIT, which will cater the needs of each others.
For establishing new NITs, States/UTs are required to provide 300 acres of land, at a place having road, rail and air connectivity.
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