Probe unapproved courses : HC asks AICTE
  
New Delhi, Aug 12,2012 : The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has been asked by the Delhi High Court to probe into an allegation that various engineering colleges are conducting unapproved courses. Disposing of a plea for direction to colleges to stop unapproved courses, a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked AICTE, the regulatory body for technical education, to carry out a thorough probe and apprise it of its findings within four months.
 
"We dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the AICTE to undertake thorough enquiry and investigation into the matter preferably within four months. The outcome of the said investigation in the form of status report shall be filed in this court," the bench said. The court order came after the AICTE counsel told the bench that the statutory body would examine the allegations by conducting an "in-depth" enquiry into the matter.
 
The court's order came on a public interest litigation petition, filed by Shabad Welfare Society of Allahabad, seeking directions to various technical institutions to stop running unapproved courses and caution the public against taking admission in such courses not approved by the AICTE.
 
According to the petitioner, many institutions have been running the unapproved courses like BSc and MSc in various disciplines in their colleges despite notices from AICTE. "The engineering colleges in order to mislead the students and to make them believe that the courses are approved by AICTE write at the top of their advertisements that the colleges are approved by AICTE," the society alleged. "This creates a logical belief in the minds of the students taking admissions in such engineering colleges that courses are approved by AICTE," it said.
 
Furnishing a list of nearly 50 colleges, the society said, "The degrees like BSc (Computer Technology) and BSc (Software Engineering) are being introduced by colleges just to show that the degrees are connected with the engineering /technical subjects whereas they are not approved by AICTE. So the same are totally fake and the names of the courses are given only to make a fool of bonafide students."
 
The petitioner sought action against those engineering colleges for giving admission in "unauthorised BSc and MSc courses" and said, "Direct AICTE to cancel its approval to the colleges on account of running unapproved courses."