AICTE removes student intake cap for top institutes

Anshita Mehra

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New Delhi, December 9

In a significant move, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has revolutionised the approval process for technical and engineering institutes, removing the cap on the maximum intake of students for “top-performing” universities. The decision was announced with the launch of the new ‘Approval Process Handbook’ (APH) recently.

AICTE Chairman TG Sitharam said there would be no maximum intake cap for “top-performing” institutes, provided they met specific criteria (see box). “If even one criterion is met, then the institute is allowed a three-year break for approval,” said Sitharam.

Abhay Jere, AICTE Vice-Chairman, emphasised that although there would be no cap for top-performing institutes, they must invest in expansion beforehand. Infrastructure and filled faculty positions are prerequisites.

To ensure criteria compliance, an expert visit committee will be established, overseeing preparedness in online, offline, or hybrid modes. The committee will comprise leading experts from premier institutes, including IITs, MITs, IIMs and NITs. Approval for increased student intake will be based on their recommendations.

While existing institutes benefit from this change, new institutes will face a cap on maximum intake until they establish their credentials. Once established, they can request additional intake. At present, technical institutes have a maximum intake of 240 seats in one branch. With the APH, new institutes can accommodate a maximum of 360 seats in engineering and technical branches, while computer application and management branches can have a maximum of 300 seats.

Approval requests can be submitted from December until January 31, 2024.

But must meet ranking, course criteria

For removal of cap, top-performing institutes must meet following criteria:

• A spot in the National Institute Ranking Framework and Quacquarelli Symonds ranking
• A minimum of 30% undergraduate courses must be accredited under the National Board of Accreditation
• The institutes must have autonomous status and on average, over 80% enrollment rate in last three years