The statutory powers of the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) were restored through the Supreme Court Interim Order of a recent three-judge bench, which says that management courses will remain part of technical education under the AICTE’s purview, a press release from the Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI). said.
Various litigations were filed in the past, challenging the jurisdiction/powers and authority of AICTE related to grant of approvals to institutes conducting technical programmes as defined in Section 2 (g) of AICTE Act 1987.
On a writ petition filed by the EPSI, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice SA Bodbe, issued an interim order on January 31, stating that:
-- AICTE will remain a statutory body designated to regulate technical education till further orders of the apex court.
-- Management education will continue to be a part of technical education
-- No technical institution will be allowed to operate without the approval of the AICTE.
Dr H Chaturvedi, Alternate President, EPSI, said in a statement: “The order of the Supreme Court has removed all confusion about the regulatory powers of the AICTE and has ensured that management education will not be thrown into the turbulent waters of an unorganised market. This order will definitely help improve the quality of technical education and keep it away from fly-by-night operators or commercially motivated institutions. In the past, management education has suffered a lot due to some of the MBA institutions operating without approval from any statutory body, damaging the careers of lakhs of students. This will not be possible now.”
In the court, the AICTE and the MHRD were represented by Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, and the EPSI was represented by Justice (Retd) Navniti Prasad Singh and senior lawyer Debashish Bharuka.