The government has approved the proposed investment of Rs 2,430 crore to initiate the second phase of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP).
About 200 engineering colleges, selected on a competitive basis, would be given assistance to bring their standards close to those of the Indian Institutes of Technology.
Of the total project expenditure of Rs 2,430 crore in the second phase, the World Bank will contribute Rs 1,395.50 crore, the Centre’s contribution according to 11th five-year Plan is Rs 500 crore, while the states and private unaided institutions will invest Rs 518.50 crore and Rs 16 crore, respectively.
“The goal is to bridge the huge gap between the IITs and other engineering institutes,” said Home Minister P Chidambaram after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs meet. The institutes benefiting by this programme would include Centrally-funded institutions such as National Institute of Technology, along with a small number of eligible private unaided institutions. The project will also support universities that affiliate project institutions.
The project will be open for competition and participation by all the engineering institutions approved by the All India Council for Technical Education.
The TEQIP scheme has been on since 2003, with World Bank’s assistance. The scheme was envisaged as a long-term programme of about 10-12 years, to be implemented in three phases for transformation of the technical education system. The first phase of TEQIP ended on March 31, 2009, covering 127 institutions in 13 states.