The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, has extended the approval to Shanmugha Polytechnic College, Thanjavur (unit of SASTRA university), for the academic year 2013-14, as per the directions of the Madras High Court, which ordered that the approval to be given on or before November 20.
On November 14, the High Court had quashed the AICTE communication rejecting extension of approval on certain flimsy grounds and held that reasons given in the order would not be sufficient to deny the extension of approval to the institution of long standing. The court had said, “There are ill-equipped institutions offering various courses in engineering and those are still surviving with the help of authorities who are expected to ensure the availability of institution and infrastructural facilities to run engineering institutions. All the institutions should not be painted with the very same brush”.
The High Court also advised that “the Apex Body must be in a position to identify the premium institutions and such institutions must be given encouragement. They should be made to give good technical education by collecting affordable fees and similar effort should be taken to close down makeshift engineering institutions which are a source of threat in the field of technical education”.