AICTE cracks whip on defaulting B-schools

Unapproved institutes, many of the country's leading ones, will be closed, says the All India Council for Technical Education.

Seven months after the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) served notice to 273 institutes running technical programmes without the regulating body's approval, a mere 32 institutes have sought the necessary approval.

Renowned technical education institutes like "" Indian School of Business, Hyderabad; Kirloskar Institute of Advance Management, Karnataka; Federation of Hotel and Restaurants Association of India Institute of Hospitality Management (FHRAI), Noida; Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai; ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon and Chandigarh; Sikkim Manipal University, Bangalore and TASMAC Institute, Pune "" still figure on the defaulters list.

In March this year, the AICTE had issued notices to these institutes asking them to comply by its norms to operate in the country. In June, the regulating body sent them final reminders and finally in July, decided to seek the state governments' help in shutting them down. "We want to safeguard the students from falling prey to some fly-by-night operators. Many of these institutes run programmes ranging from masters in management, engineering, hospitality management and diploma in fashion technology. We receive numerous enquiries from anxious parents and students everyday and thus we have decided to clamp down on these institutes," said an AICTE official.

Institutes which have got the AICTE approval include the Christ Educational Society, Bangalore; Bharat Institute of Aeronautical Engineering and Technology, Pune; Adroit Engineering Institute, Mumbai; NIIT, Bangalore; Academy of Pharmaceutical Management, Mumbai; Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's PDN College of Communication and Management, Mumbai; Delhi Business School, Delhi; HR College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai and five technical colleges run by Mumbai Education Trust, Mumbai.

The AICTE says, it's firm on its stand to approach the state government to shut these institutes down. "We will be talking to the state governments on this issue. The AICTE approval is a must and no institute can run a technical course without it. Institutes which have the state government's approval to run the course will also have to take AICTE's approval. However, some colleges affiliated to state universities could be exempted if they fulfill the necessary formalities asked by AICTE," said an AICTE official.

Unapproved institutes are classified in two categories "" those which run technical unapproved programmes in collaboration with foreign institutes and others which have not sought the AICTE's approval at all for running their technical programmes.

For instance, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management (KIAM) in Karnataka, run and governed by the Kirloskar Group of Companies, one of India's largest industrial conglomerates, has got into a tie up with Kishore Biyani promoted Pantaloon Retail. But the institute apparently has not sought permission from AICTE for the same. It offers a post graduate diploma in management. Other management institutes which figure on the list are"" Training and Advanced Studies in Management Communication (TASMAC institute), Pune; Mumbai-based Weigan and Leigh College and Welingkar Institute of Management Development.

Mumbai Education Trust's (MET's ) five institutes"" MET Asian Management Development Centre; Institute of Distance Learning; Institute of Software Development and Research; Insitute of Mass Media and Institute of Medical Sciences"" sought clearance from the AICTE earlier this month.

Says Sunil Karve, founder trustee and vice chairman - MET league of colleges, "Getting an approval from the AICTE has cleared a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding in the minds of our stakeholders. The AICTE wanted to know if the activities at MET were within the purview of the AICTE norms. They wanted to be sure that none of the activities were violating the norms."

The Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, has also applied for an AICTE approval. Said an Indian School of Business official, "We did receive a letter from the AICTE asking certain clarifications and our relationship with our partner schools"" Kellogg Graduate School of Management and The Wharton School. We have furnished all the details to AICTE".