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AICTE may relax qualification norms for tech institute heads
“The issue was placed before a committee of experts constituted by this Council for deliberations,” AICTE member secretary Rajive Kumar said.
A person vying for the post of director or principal at a technical institute affiliated with the All India Technical Council of Education (AICTE) may no longer need to guide PhD candidates as supervisors or have research work published in academic journals, a notification issued by the council on Friday said.
Instead, the notification based on the recommendations of an expert panel, said that founders and co-founders of start-ups or incubation units may also be considered.
The council received representations from faculty members seeking a revision in the qualification requirements that have been in place since 2019, the notification said.
“The issue was placed before a committee of experts constituted by this Council for deliberations. The committee recommended expanding the scope of the qualification criteria for the post of directors and principals,” AICTE member secretary Rajive Kumar said.
Highlighting the recent emphasis on startups, innovation and incubation by the government, Kumar said the qualification criteria has been limited to academic work.
“The committee recommended having representatives from different areas and giving opportunities to industry experts to become principals and directors of technical institutions,” he said.
The existing criteria makes it mandatory for candidates to guide at least two successful PhDs as supervisor or co-supervisor, and have a minimum of eight research publications in government approved academic journals.
Retaining these as “optional” criteria, the committee has now recommended that if a candidate has authored at least four books (text/reference) with reputed publishers, and organized at least four conferences as convener, they can also be considered for the top post.
Similarly, those who have developed one massive open online course (MOOC) applicable at national platforms, or those having postgraduate certificate or diploma or degree in management/public administration can also be considered.
“It will also help bridge the gap between academics and industry,” Kumar said.
The suggestions have been put in public domain for 15 days before the council takes a final call, he said.
Welcoming the move, JP Saini, vice chancellor of Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT), said, “Majority of the technical colleges are offering courses up to graduate or postgraduate levels, and therefore, the faculty hardly gets an opportunity to guide PhDs. It is good that the expert committee has recommended the AICTE to make it an optional criteria. Besides, it is good that the industry experts and professionals will also be considered for the post as it is not just an academic post. It comes with a lot of administrative responsibilities as well.”
