To ensure transparency in the functioning of AICTE, whose top brass is facing corruption cases, the government will make it mandatory for the agency to display information online about progress in the applications of institutes for approval or accreditation.
The government is set to launch e-governance system in All India Council of Technical Education(AICTE) under which the representatives of institutes will not have to come to the agency's office to track their cases.
Under the e-governance project, any institute can know online the status of its application pertaining to approval for new courses, increasing intake of existing programmes or accreditation to its programmes.
"The purpose is to bring transparency in the system. By this e-governance system, every institute will be able to track the progress in their applications on line. They need not come to AICTE office. This will help reduce corruption," a source told PTI.
This will be similar to the PNR number system of railways under which passengers are able to know progress in confirmation of their tickets.
"The AICTE will also display if there is any laxity on part of the institute which seeks approval or accreditation. The institutes can fulfil the deficiencies and comply," the source said.
The step assumes significance in the backdrop of the arrest of its member secretary K Narayan Rao this month by CBI in a corruption case.
While Rao was arrested for allegedly accepting bribe for inspection and approval of an engineering college in Hyderabad, the agency registered corruption cases against its chairman R A Yadav, Advisor H C Rai and Deputy Director Robinder Randhawa in a separate corruption case.
The HRD Ministry is waiting a detailed report from the CBI in this case after which disciplinary action will follow against the officials, sources said.
Under the e-governance project, the regional offices of AICTE will be inter-linked. A high-level committee has been set up to go into the modalities for implementation of the project.
The HRD Ministry has also directed higher educational institutions to provide information in their website relating to availability of infrastructure and physical assets, grants-in-aid provided by the government and its utilisation and admission criteria.
The institutions will have to furnish information on all courses of study, including degree or diploma programmes and those conducted in distance mode.
