Private technical institutions should become active partners with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in the development of quality technical education, Alok Prakash Mittal, Member Secretary, AICTE, New Delhi said on Friday.
In the globalised scenario marked by stiff competition, technical institutions should extend their full support to quality initiatives of the AICTE aimed at enhancing technical education, Mr. Mittal said. He was speaking at a conclave on “Creating competent engineers for Make in India” organised by the Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu and Association of Self-Financing Professional Engineering Colleges- Anna University, Tiruchi zone.
Institutions imparting technical education should focus on ways and means of improving quality of technical education which would make students more competent and enhance their skills. Institutions should desist from taking short cuts to grow faster when they were concerned about providing quality education. He said industry – institution interaction was poor although industries were keen to join hands.
Although the AICTE was a regulatory body in the area of technical education, it would act as a facilitator in ensuring quality technical education. In this regard, it was equally vital for private technical institutions to become a partner with AICTE in enhancing the quality of technical education, Mr. Mittal said.
Some of the technical institutions do not follow the regulations laid down by AICTE prompting it to come into the picture. Despite having shown tremendous progress over the years, the country was still dependent on various equipment produced abroad. The AICTE had roped in industrialists and experts to guide engineers who wanted to become entrepreneurs, he said.
K. Purushothaman, Senior Director, NASSCOM said the industry today required technically competent persons in the current scenario warranting constant updation of skills. Skills are the new currency and “re-skill or perish” was the mantra for the future, he said. R.S. Munirathinam, president, Consortium of Self-Financing Professional Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu and P. Selvaraj, secretary, Consortium of Self-Financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu spoke.
