A complete overhaul of M. Tech curriculum in private engineering colleges is on cards for the next academic year 2018-19. All India Council of Technical Education had decided to make M. Tech more research, teaching and industry-oriented than earlier, declared Manpreet Singh Manne, Director, All India Council of Technical Education.
M. Tech curriculum will include a three-month compulsory teaching workshop and nine-month industrial training module. Till last year, the syllabus and norms had allowed students to submit for evaluation technological and engineering projects developed in their own colleges. AICTE arrived at the curriculum change as M. Tech graduates are most likely to be teaching engineering in undergraduate engineering colleges than opt for research and development. “As over 10,000 institutions which come under AICTE face 38% faculty shortage, M. Tech graduates will have to be trained to take up the job,” Mr. Manne who was in Hyderabad told The Hindu . Till recently AICTE, the body which monitors and controls technical, pharmacy and management education in the country had to allow adjunct faculty members because of teacher shortage.
In an elaborate plan which will require meticulous planning and execution, Mr. Manne said colleges under AICTE will evaluate teaching aptitude among B. Tech graduates. “We will ask students doing their second year of B. Tech whether they are keen to teach. Those interested will be honed specially under the M.Tech programme,” he said. While the programme is tailor made to help aspiring teachers, those who want to continue higher education will also have to go through the uniform curriculum,” he informed.
Online learning
The council which launched its online teaching platform, SWAYAM or Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds this year is expected to launch its first semester-based courses that follows credit system on swayam.gov.in starting July 9. Those who take the course will be given a cafeteria of study material including music and arts to chose from. As per the Swayam model, students will be allowed to get 20 credits if they take full length semester courses on the portal. These credits, recognised by all institutions in the country, can be added to the total Common Grade Point given by parent educational institutions. “Each student will be now be able to follow languages, music, art or any subject of their choice,” Mr. Manne said.
AICTE has also been revamping the education portal by introducing internship for enthusiastic students. A total of 60,000 had registered with the site. However, the director said 300 to 400 college managements have been submitting their foreclosure requests each year during the past decade on account of fall in B. Tech admissions. Mr. Manne said AICTE, “will forcibly close any engineering or professional college that had filled less than 30% of the seats for five consecutive years”.
