7 days ago
Employees' body seeks AICTE probe into ‘irregularities' in some engineering colleges in A.P.
Members of the Andhra Pradesh Technical and Professional Institutions Employees Association (APTPIEA) have urged the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to look into 'gross irregularities' resorted to by some of the private deemed to be universities in the State.
In a letter addressed to the AICTE Chairman T.G. Sitharam on Thursday (May 29), the association president M.V. Bramhananda Reddy alleged that some institutions were resorting to practices that compromised the integrity and quality of technical education.
They alleged that certain universities offered online and distance learning programmes without proper regulatory approval or in a manner that violated the University Grants Commission (UGC) and AICTE norms. Accusing them of manipulating student attendance, internal assessments and backdate registrations to produce dishonest academic outcomes, Mr. Reddy said some institutions claimed inflated placement statistics and misled stakeholders, hiding the actual employment status of their graduates. They often imposed hidden charges under various heads, thrusting a huge financial burden on students, he alleged.
The association leader said many Ph.D. candidates had reported lack of proper guidelines, alleged unethical publication practices and delay in the evaluation of their thesis, undermining the spirit of quality research.
The association leader urged the AICTE to probe the academic credibility of such institutions and take appropriate action against those found violating the rulebook.
The association leaders have also alleged irregularities in the inspection procedures in engineering colleges affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU)-Kakinada.
They said it had come to their notice that a college principal held a fake Ph.D and continues to be shown as an M. Tech student in regular stream from the same college. The members said the college also did not have sufficient ratified faculty as per the requirement.
Accusing irregularities in allocation of Ph.D guides and in grant of autonomous status to colleges without following due diligence, they demanded that the authorities concerned conduct a re-inspection of the colleges that were granted autonomy under JNTU-Kakinada.
