With colleges facing closure for having poor enrolment, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) is mulling to merge two colleges which are in the vicinity of each other.
In all 4,633 courses and 527 institutes have shut shop in the last five years in the country. In Maharashtra alone, 921 courses were shut down in the last five years and 69 institutes have shut shop in the same period, reports The Times Of India.
"On receiving news of the closure, the colleges have put forth two suggestions. One is to consider the enrolment data for last three years and defer the decision for the next two years and then reconsider it based on the enrolment data. Second, these colleges will request the council to permit mergers or allow buyouts by other trusts," said Anil Sahastrabuddhe, chairman, AICTE.
AICTE authorities have stated that “there are less than 30% enrollments in these colleges in past five years hence have been asked to shut down. The decision has been taken after studying details of intake at all colleges across the country in the last five years,” According to Indian Express.
Karnataka consists of 600 colleges and there is no declaration on any list of colleges to shut down, according The Indian Express.
The council had also planned to review all the inspection reports of these 800 colleges, give them an opportunity of hearing. If there are enough sources of revenue other than the fees and the college is able to maintain the faculty-student ratio and also pay the faculty according to the norms, the council will not shut them.
Principal of Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, G T Thampi, said that such mergers could be financially viable.
"Currently, even when colleges have full strength, their facilities such as the laboratories are underutilized. Such common facilities can be shared and expenses can be cut down, thereby reducing the cost of education too. But there should be a holistic approach and the policies should be more liberal," he said.