AICTE reverts to earlier cut-off; 5,774 students to benefit

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has reverted to the earlier eligibility criteria of 45% for general and 40% for reserved category in class XII for admission to degree courses in engineering and pharmacy.

A total of 5,774 students of the state, who are seeking admission to these courses, are likely to be benefited by the move.
Admission Committee for Professional Courses (ACPC) chairman MN Patel said, “The eligibility criteria have been reverted from 50% to 45% for general and from 45% to 40% for the reserved category in class XII.”

He said that members of AICTE had decided to reinstate the old norm on Friday.“However, I had not received any confirmation from them till late. Later, on receiving a verbal confirmation, I uploaded the information on the website for all,” the chairman said. AICTE had changed the cut-off norms a couple of months ago.

Patel added that he was still waiting for a written confirmation from the committee members. ACPC is the agency that conducts centralised admission process for degree courses in engineering and pharmacy.

The chairman added that the change in the norm will delay the admission process by at least a couple of days as information booklets and PIN numbers from the designated nationalised bank branches will have to be resent. In addition, forms will also have to be sent to help collection centres to make theadmission process smooth.

Admissions were to commence from July 2, but with the new eligibility criteria becoming applicable, the process is likely to be delayed by a day or two, Patel said.

AICTE Revises Eligibility Criteria for Engineering Courses

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has set new criteria for taking admission in engineering courses. As per these criteria, many II PU candidates will now be eligible for seeking engineering seats via the state CET.

Moreover, marks scored by II PU candidates in computer science and electronics will be considered while deciding eligibility criteria for engineering/technical courses along with chemistry, biology and biotechnology.

Earlier this year, the AICTE increased the eligibility criteria by 5%, which was earlier 50% and now 55% for the general category. It has come to light that on Tuesday, a meeting will take place where the Higher Education Minister VS Acharya will be urging HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to reduce the eligibility criteria for 2011-2012

It’s not just the eligibility on which the AICTE has been working; combating growing menace of ragging is also a growing concern for the AICTE. In order to combat ragging, the AICTE has come up with stricter policies. It has been told that this year while giving an admission to a student the authorities concerned will ask the student to sign a form that he or she will not indulge in any incident which is regarded as ragging. Moreover, parents will also be made to sign an application saying that if their ward is found guilty of ragging then the authorities concerned can take action against them.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the AICTE has approved 175 institutions, including 100 engineering colleges, and asked the rest to correct their shortcomings.