Engineering education in India

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India has the largest numbers of engineers as well as the largest number of engineering education institutes and infrastructure in the world.[ citation needed ]As of 2021, India annually produces 1.5 million engineering graduates. [1] India's technical education infrastructure includes 2500 engineering colleges, 1400 polytechnics and 200 schools of planning and architecture. [1]

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IIT Delhi - A prominent engineering institute in India IIT Delhi Entrance.jpg
IIT Delhi - A prominent engineering institute in India

Of the hundred thousands engineering graduates produced every year, less than 5% of the engineers are produced by the pan-India national level autonomous institutes created by the acts of parliament, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) [ citation needed ],a little over 5% are produced by state level autonomous institutes and unitary universities approved by UGC. The remaining over 90% of the engineering graduates are produced by the private and non-autonomous state level engineering education institutes which must obtain the approval from the regulatory authority All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to run such courses before they start admitting students. [1]

Most common engineering branches in Undergraduate are Computer science and engineering, Electronics and Communication engineering, Electrical and electronic engineering, Mechanical engineering, Civil engineering and Chemical engineering. [2] [3]

History

There is long history of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent. The western style engineering education commenced during the British raj as a necessity for the training of overseers for construction and maintenance of public buildings, roads, canals, and ports, and for the training of artisans and craftsmen for the use of instruments, and apparatus needed for the army, the navy, and the survey department. While superintending engineers were mostly recruited from Britain, lower grade craftsmen, artisans and sub-overseers were recruited locally. The necessity to make them more efficient, led to the establishment of industrial schools attached to the Ordnance Factories Board and other engineering establishments. [4]

In 1847, India's the first engineering college Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now called IIT Roorkee) was established at Roorkee in present-day Uttarakhand state for the training of Civil Engineers. It was followed by College of Engineering, Pune's precursor, The Poona Engineering Class and Mechanical School in July 1854. [5]

Universities and institutes deemed to be universities are approved by the University Grants Commission. In 2021, there are nearly 900 government and private universities and 45,000 colleges affiliated to these universities. [1]

All institutes, universities engineering colleges as well as government or privately funded engineering colleges affiliated to the universities, must obtain an approval from the AICTE which licenses and regulates the institutes, not the individuals or practitioners, which offer the engineering and/or technical education. IITs, IIITs and NITs, etc. do not require approval from UGC or AICTE as these are created as the autonomous organisations through the act of parliament, hence they have full autonomy to decide their teaching standards, course design, curriculum, fee, etc. [1] Engineering colleges run by the Central Universities, which were not created as the autonomous institutes along the lines of IITs, IIITs or NITs, must also seek AICTE approval.

Pan-India or national level institutes

These are either founded and funded or approved by the union Government of India such as the IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. Admission to those are done by Joint Entrance Examination for Undergraduate and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering for Post graduate. [6]

Indian Institutes of Technology

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has 23 centers located in Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Chennai, Mandi, Patna, Roorkee, Ropar, Dhanbad, Palakkad, Tirupati, Bhilai, Goa, Jammu, Dharwad and Varanasi. All IITs enjoy the status of the Institutes of National Importance and are autonomous universities that draft their own curricula. Admission to undergraduate B.Tech and integrated M.Tech. programs are through the Joint Entrance Examination - Advanced (JEE Advanced) in which around 150,000 students appear annually out of which only around 16,000 [7] get selected. These 150,000 students are initially sorted out by the Joint Entrance Examination - Main (JEE Main) which is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Around 1.2 million students appear for this exam. Admission to most postgraduate courses in IITs is granted through various written entrance examinations: Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Joint Admission Test (JAM) and Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED) for M.Tech., M.Sc. and M.Des. courses. The admission for Ph.D. program is based primarily on a personal interview, though candidates may also have to appear for written tests. The IITs are also well known for their special reservation policy, which is significantly different from the one applied in other educational institutions of India. [8]

National Institutes of Technology

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are colleges of engineering and technology education in India. All NITs enjoy the status of the Institutes of National Importance and are autonomous universities that draft their own curricula. They were originally called Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs). In 2002, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, decided to upgrade, in phases, all the original 17 RECs as NITs. There are currently 31 NITs, with the inception of 10 new NITs in the year 2010 and another in 2015. The 31 NITs are located in Allahabad, Agartala, Bhopal, Durgapur, Hamirpur, Kozhikode, Kurukshetra, Jalandhar, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Rourkela, Silchar, Srinagar, Surathkal, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Warangal, Yupia, New Delhi, Farmagudi, Imphal, Shillong, Aizawl, Chümoukedima, Karaikal, Ravangla, Uttarakhand and Tadepalligudem. The Government of India has introduced the NITSER Act to bring 31 such institutions within the ambit of the act and to provide them with complete autonomy in their functioning. The NITs are deliberately scattered throughout the country in line with the government norm of an NIT in every major state of India to promote regional development. The individual NITs, after the introduction of the NITSER Act, have been functioning as autonomous technical universities and hence can draft their own curriculum and functioning policies. [9] The admission to undergraduate programs of all the NITs was done by the All India Engineering Entrance Examination [10] popularly known as AIEEE. From the year 2013, AIEEE was replaced by the Joint Entrance Examination - Main (JEE Main) in which 40% weightage was given to the Higher Secondary results and 60% weightage was given to the JEE(Main) results. However, the weightage of Higher Secondary result was made to be 0% from the year 2017 onwards and it was only given as an eligibility criteria (of either attaining 75% in HS results or being in the top 20% of the respective board). The examination is objective by nature and is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) [11] from the year 2019. The exam was previously conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). More than twelve lakh (1,200,000 or 1.2 million) applicants took part in 2013 for approximately 15500 seats in the B. Tech and B. Arch programmes available in all the NITs put together. [12]

Indian Institutes of Information Technology

Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) are a group of 26 Interdisciplinary Technical Universities of higher education in India, focused on Computer science and engineering and Information Technology. Five of them are established, funded and managed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The rest 21 are set up on the public-private partnership (PPP) model. [13] [14]

Admissions into undergraduate programmes in IIITs for 6,000 seats are through the Joint Seat Allocation Authority and JEE-Main. [15] For postgraduate programs admission is through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). They follow similar academic policies as that of NITs. [16]

Other Central technical Institutions

There are more than 30 Government Funded Technical Institutes in addition to IITs, NITs and IIITs. They also follow similar academic and admission policies of IITs, NITs and IIITs. [17]

Private deemed universities

Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Vellore Institute of Technology, and International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad are some of the top private deemed universities in the country. [18] [19] [20] The curriculum here is more updated and flexible than public Universities. [21] [22] Admission to Bachelor programs in Engineering in these Institutes is based on Joint Entrance Examination – Main as well as independently conducted entrances. Separate exams such as BITSAT for Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and VITEEE for Vellore Institute of Technology are also required to be given for admission to these institutes.

The Institution of Engineers (India)

The IEI was established in 1920 in Kolkata, West Bengal and pioneered education in engineering. IEI conducts an examination for its Associate Membership (AMIE). This examination is considered equivalent to B.E. / B. Tech for competitive examinations like the Indian Civil Service, Indian Engineering Services, GATE, etc., and for employment in Government, public and private sectors in India.

There are 2 sections, namely Section A and Section B. Passing both sections means the candidate will be considered a chartered engineer (CEng).

As per AICTE, AMIE is recognized as equivalent to bachelor's degree in appropriate branch of engineering, to those who had enrolled themselves with the institution on or before 31 May 2013. Refer notification from AICTE website. [23]

State-level institutes by the state

As of 2021, India has 28 states each with own government elected separately from the national government (also called union or federal government), and 8 union territories which are administered by the union government. Each state can find and fund own state level technical education institutes and it can also approve such institutes in the private sector, both of these legally remained confined to the specific state within and by which they were created. All these institutes must also obtain AICTE approval for conformation to the engineering and technology education teaching infrastructure and minimum standards.

Issues

Illegal capitation fee

Some of the engineering colleges have been known for involving themselves in the illegal practice of capitation fee. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the regulatory body for technical education in India, has called "upon the students, parents and the general public not to pay any capitation fee or any other fee other than that mentioned in the Prospectus of the Institutions for consideration of admission.". [24] AICTE also mentions that the fee charged from students, has to be approved by the fee regulatory committee of the state, and the institute should mention the fee in its website. [25] As per AICTE norms, the educational institutions are not meant to charge a fee higher than what is mentioned in the prospectus. Educational regulatory agencies such as UGC [26] and regional level fee regulating bodies [27] has mandated that an institution should include the fee in the prospectus.

Low quality engineering academics

Lack of academic quality, lack of quality professors, poor infrastructure in some typical private engineering institute in India. [28] CICU president Upkar Singh Ahuja stated that "Poor quality of engineering academics hampering industrial growth". [29] World bank also raised red flag on poor quality academics in India and south Asian countries. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

A Bachelor of Technology is an undergraduate academic degree in the field of engineering and technology conferred after the completion of a four-to-five-year program of studies at an accredited university or accredited higher education institution, such as a college or university in India and other countries. In India, this is a four-year undergraduate degree awarded by few universities and colleges which is equivalent to four-year Bachelor of Engineering with Honours.

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are centrally funded technical institutes under the ownership of the Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education, and Research Act, 2007, which declared them institutions of national importance and laid down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The act lists 31 NITs. Each NIT is autonomous and linked to the others through a common council known as the Council of NITSER, which oversees their administration. All NITs are funded by the Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad</span> Public engineering institution in Hyderabad, Telangana

The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) is a deemed university, founded as a non-profit public-private partnership (N-PPP), located in Hyderabad, India. It is the first IIIT in India under this model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur</span> Public engineering and research institute

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur (VNIT) formally known as Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering (VRCE) is a public technical university located in the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra. Established in 1960, the institute is among 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in the country. In 2007, the institute was conferred with the status of Institute of National Importance by the National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research Act, 2007 of the Parliament of India with all other NITs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Entrance Examination – Main</span> Examination for admission to engineering colleges in India

Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE-Main), formerly All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE), is an Indian standardized computer-based test for admission to various technical undergraduate programs in engineering, architecture, and planning across colleges in India. The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to B.Tech, B.Arch, B.Planning etc. programs in premier technical institutes such as the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs) which are based on the rank secured in the JEE-Main. It is usually conducted twice every year- session-1 and session-2. Since mid 2019, the JEE has been conducted fully online as a computerized test. Previously it was conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education before NTA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Silchar</span> Indian engineering school

National Institute Of Technology Silchar is one of the 31 NITs of India and was established in 1967 as a Regional Engineering College in Silchar. In 2002, it was upgraded to the status of National Institute of Technology and was declared as Institute of National Importance under the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007.

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is an engineering entrance assessment conducted for admission to various engineering colleges in India. It comprises two different examinations: the JEE-Main and the JEE-Advanced.

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a network of engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961. The Act refers to them as Institutes of National Importance and lays down their powers, duties, and framework for governance as the country's premier institutions in the field of technology. 23 IITs currently fall under the tenor of this act. Each IIT operates autonomously and is linked to others through a common council called the IIT Council, which oversees their administration. The Minister of Education of India is the ex officio chairperson of the IIT Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education (India)</span> Ministry within the Government of India

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The ministry is further divided into two departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with university level education, technical education, scholarships, etc.

Hooghly Engineering and Technology College (HETC) is a self financed engineering college run by the Hooghly Engineering & Technology College Society, engaged in the promotion of technical education amongst students and the dissemination of scientific knowledge in society. The institute is affiliated with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology. It is recognised by the Government of West Bengal and its courses are approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Technology, Arunachal Pradesh</span> Public engineering institution in India

National Institute of Technology Arunachal Pradesh is a public technical and research institute located at Jote near Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. NIT Arunachal Pradesh is one of the 31 National Institutes of Technology in India and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance. NIT Arunachal Pradesh started its functioning from 2010 in a temporary campus in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh. The institute presently functions from its permanent Campus at Jote, Papum Pare district, Arunachal Pradesh.

Two major engineering entrance examinations are used for admission to engineering institutes across India, the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). In 2010, a proposal for a common engineering entrance examination was made by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The proposal has gone through several names and formats and is expected to enter use in 2024. Yet, the common entrance exam for all engineering courses in India has not become effective, even for the academic year 2021–22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gandhi Institute for Technology</span>

Gandhi Institute For Technology (GIFT), Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, is an engineering institution in Odisha, India. Established in 2007 by the Balaram Panda Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Manipur</span>

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Manipur (IIITM) is one among the prestigious Indian Institutes of Information Technology, a group of 25 Interdisciplinary Technical Universities of higher education started by the Government of India, focused on Information Technology. It is an "Institute of National Importance", declared by an act of parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camellia Institute of Technology & Management</span> College in West Bengal, India

Camellia Institute of Technology & Management, commonly known as CITM, is an autonomous private degree engineering college in West Bengal, India, situated in Boinchi, Hooghly. The institute is affiliated with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology. It is recognised by the Government of West Bengal and its courses are approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Una</span> Engineering college in Himachal Pradesh, India

Indian Institute of Information Technology Una is one of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology located at Vill. Saloh, Teh. Haroli, Distt. Una Himachal Pradesh-177209, Himachal Pradesh.. Established in 2014, it was recognized as an Institute of National Importance. IIIT Una is a joint venture of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, the Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, with Industries in Public-Private Partnership model. The industries are H.P. Power Corporation and H.P. Power Transmission Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Ranchi</span>

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Ranchi, is one of the Indian Institutes of Information Technology, a group of 25 Interdisciplinary Technical Universities of higher education started by Government of India, focused on Information Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sonepat</span>

Indian Institute of Information Technology Sonepat is an Indian Institutes of Information Technology located at Sonipat, Haryana. The academic session of IIIT Sonepat started from its temporary campus at NIT Kurukshetra from year 2014 Right now it is running in Shri Balwant Institute of Technology, GT Road Sonepat. IIIT Sonepat is a joint venture of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, the Govt. of Haryana, with Industries in Public-Private Partnership model and has been declared as the Institutes of National Importance.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Thakur, Ashok (3 February 2021). "Modi govt's HEC can't just be UGC with new label. Engineering still needs its own regulator". ThePrint . Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Top 5 Engineering Branches in India". Jagranjosh.com. 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  3. ↑ "Which Type of Engineering Should You Study?". Top Universities. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  4. ↑ MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (1962). THE REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION COMMISSION (DECEMBER 1948 – AUGUST 1949) (PDF) (Report). Vol. 1. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
  5. ↑ "History of COEP".
  6. ↑ "JEE Main Result 2021: What after JEE Main 2021 result is declared". The Indian Express. 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  7. ↑ "More dreams get wings as IITs to add 460 seats this year". The Times of India. 19 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "IITs | Technical Education | Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development". mhrd.gov.in. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
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  10. ↑ "List of Engineering Entrance Exams". Etoosindia. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  11. ↑ Misra, Aishwarya (2018-04-14). "Establishment of the NTA: Purpose, Organization, Features". EduPadhai. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  12. ↑ "NITs | Technical Education | Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development". mhrd.gov.in. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  13. ↑ "Institutions | Government of India, Ministry of Education". www.education.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  14. ↑ "welcome to IIIT Council". iiitcouncil.com. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  15. ↑ "More seats in new IITs 387 additional BTech berths on offer this year". Archived from the original on August 19, 2018.
  16. ↑ "List of Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)". engineering.careers360.com. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  17. ↑ "JoSAA". josaa.nic.in. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  18. ↑ "MoE, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)". www.nirfindia.org. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
  19. ↑ "Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham only Indian university in world top 100 institutes". Hindustan Times. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  20. ↑ "MoE, National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)". www.nirfindia.org. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  21. ↑ "Top engineering colleges that accept JEE Main score for UG admissions". The Indian Express. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  22. ↑ "Engineering Colleges in India Accepting GATE 2021 – Courses, Fees, Admission, Rank". Careers360. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  23. ↑ "Public Notice for Professional Bodies/Institutes Imparting Technical Education | Government of India, All India Council for Technical Education". www.aicte-india.org. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  24. ↑ http://www.aicte-india.org/downloads/notice_prohibition_capitation_fee.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  25. ↑ "All India Council for Technical Education" (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  26. ↑ "Deemed Regulation- The Gazette of India" (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  27. ↑ "MBA Directives issued to all All Self-Financing Management Institutes on 11-05-2015" (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Addressing the quality deficit in India's technical education". The Indian Express. 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  29. 1 2 "'Poor education quality in engineering stopping growth'". The Times of India. May 22, 2019. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
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