Beware of Bachelor of Fake – All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE)

AICTE has identified over 200 institutions that offer degrees and courses not approved by the statutory councils

By Dipti Sonawala ( Mumbai Mirror)

Posted On Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 03:49:08 AM

Before you get excited about advertisements of institutions promising you a radiant future, you may need to do some homework. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has identified 201 institutions that offer technical and management courses not approved by them or the University Grants Commission (UGC). Of these, 74 have a presence in Maharashtra. The body is concerned that students pay exorbitant amounts to enrol in under-graduate and post-graduate courses with these institutions only to realise that the degree doesn’t help them get a job or pursue further studies. Prabhat Kumar Sahoo, director and regional officer of AICTE, western region, said, “A number of leading institutions like the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, ICFAI Business School, Mumbai and other branches, J K Business School Gurgaon, MB Birla Institute of Management, Bharitya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore and Sikkim Manipal University and Frankfinn Airhostess Academy, Mumbai and Pune, figure in the list of institutions that run courses not approved by AICTE.. These institutions do not have any right to confer or grant degrees in these courses. This can have serious consequences for students in terms of eligibility for employment and higher studies.” UGC and AICTE are working towards spreading awareness about this issue in order to caution students and parents. Dr. Sahoo said, “We have been advised by the HRD ministry to launch an effective campaign against such institutions. The Government is also looking into a legislative proposal to restrict these unfair practices.” Sriram Gopalakrishnan, Head of Marketing and Communications, Indian School of Business, said, “The ISB’s one-year post-graduate programme does not fall under the ambit of the AICTE’s current regulatory mechanism for business schools and hence we have not applied for approval. The ISB has been established as a world-class institution. We have already started the process for a global accreditation. At the same time, the ISB continues to abide by the law of the land.” Sunanda Eshwaran, Dean at ICFAI Business School, Mumbai campus, told Mumbai Mirror, “We have never misguided our students over the issue of approval and recognition. It is clearly mentioned in our website that we have not sought AICTE approval. We also inform our students and their parents about this during admissions. For this approval, we need to fulfil certain criteria. As and when we fulfil these, we will seek AICTE’s approval.” Vice-President, Corporate Communication, Frankfinn Institute of Airhostess training, said, “We are shocked to find our institute’s names in the AICTE list. We do not need any approval from them as our institute does not come under the purview of AICTE and UGC. We provide vocational and not technical training.” What you should do before applying ? Students and their parents should refer to the websites of UGC (http://www.ugc.ac.in http://www.ugc.ac.in)  and the AICTE (http://www.aicte-india.org) to check the list of recognised Indian Universities/Institutions before joining them