Following an order of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), BMS Evening College of Engineering, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru — the only evening engineering college in the State — has closed down.
The State government has refused permission to run the evening engineering college, from this academic year, as a result of which the management has not submitted the seat matrix for engineering courses through lateral entry for the 2023-24 academic year to the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
12 evening engineering colleges in the State once
Including BMS Evening College of Engineering, there were 12 evening engineering colleges in the State earlier. They were running three-year engineering courses, particularly for diploma engineering pass-out students employed in various sectors. The students were enrolled in colleges through DCET conducted by the KEA.
However, the AICTE withdrew the three-year degree programmes offered at evening engineering colleges for diploma engineering holders in the 2020-21 academic year. Therefore, all other 11 evening engineering colleges were closed from the 2021-22 academic year, and the three-year engineering courses were merged with the four-year engineering courses.
However, only BMS Evening College of Engineering got admissions in the 2021-22 academic year. The AICTE granted an exemption for lateral entry for engineering courses only for this college.
Despite the AICTE order, the KEA allotted 196 students through lateral entry for civil, mechanical, electronics and communication, electrical and electronics, and computer science streams in the 2022-23 academic year. But, even 45 days after the admission process was completed, classes had not started for these students. Angry students staged a protest at the college.
“Some aggrieved students challenged this issue in court. Later, these students were merged with four-year regular engineering courses,” a source said.
Speaking to The Hindu, S. Muralidhara, Principal of the College, said, “We requested the State government to permit the evening engineering college. But on the basis of the AICTE order, the government has denied permission. Therefore, we permanently closed the evening engineering college from this year.”
Flexible timings
Amidst of all these developments, this year, the AICTE has made a special provision by providing flexibility in timing to conduct theory and practical classes in the engineering colleges (even beyond office hours) for diploma pass out students employed in various sectors.
“Working professionals with diploma qualifications enrolled in regular undergraduate programmes shall be allowed to do the theory and practical in flexible timing to enrich their skills and knowledge,” the AICTE said.
Commenting on this, Dr. Muralidhar said, “There are no proper guidelines for this. It is also a matter of how many students will opt for this. There are some logistical problems like faculty and so on. It is very difficult to implement this in the regular engineering colleges.”
