Coimbatore : "A Common Entrance Test (CET) like NEET can be considered for Engineering studies once there is a common curriculum in all the States," stated AICTE Chairman, Anil Sahashrabuddhe, today. The AICTE Chairman was here to attend the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon - Hardware edition 2019, hosted by FORGE.
Coimbatore : "A Common Entrance Test (CET) like NEET can be considered for Engineering studies once there is a common curriculum in all the States," stated AICTE Chairman, Anil Sahashrabuddhe, today. The AICTE Chairman was here to attend the grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon - Hardware edition 2019, hosted by FORGE.
During a press interaction organised on the sidelines, answering a question whether a Common entrance test like NEET will be considered for engineering courses, Anil Sahashrabudhe answered, "AICTE considered having a CET two years ago.Since the States had different syllabus it could not be implemented. Once all the states adopt a common curriculum, CET could be considered for engineering courses also".
Responding to a question on the general perception that engineering courses are loosing sheen , the AICTE chairman replied "It was a wrong perception among the general public. In fact engineering courses are more sought after, which can be seen from the fact that 60% IAS officers have engineering background".
He further added that the reduction in engineering seats was due to closure of nearly 80 to 90 colleges, where there was no admission of students for the last three years. This was more because of well informed parents and not due to the punitive actions of AICTE. "In 2015-16 there were 16.50 lakh seats, which had come down to 14 lakh this year. Every year about 80,000 seats are reduced accounting for 2.5 lakh reduction in the past three years" he said.
Talking about the Smart India Hackathon - Hardware edition, Sahashrabude said that hackathon is the largest open innovation program in the world aimed to empower students. India which was at 81st position in the innovation index has climbed up at 57th position this year after various programmes initiated by the Govt to encourage innovative thinking among the student community in the way of Hackathons. " When Hackathon was started in the year 2017, participation was around 50,000 students and in the year 2018 it was around one lakh. This year, the no has grown bigger with a participation of 2 lakh students participating " stated the AICTE chairman.