New Delhi: AICTE chairman, Anil Sahasrabudhe stated on Monday that the council was anticipating more than twice the number of requests it got last year from engineering institutions interested in starting courses in regional languages.
During a press interaction on the sidelines of an event organised by the Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI) in Pune city, he said, “Last year (AY 2021-22), a total of 20 engineering colleges across India, including two in Pune, had started engineering courses in regional languages. We are expecting now that more than double the same proposals will come for AY 2022-23. The process for submission of proposals begins from Tuesday”.
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The first engineering course in Marathi was well accepted by students, with all 68 seats filled at the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE). After the top organisation for engineering education invited applications as part of the New Education Policy (NEP), institutions from around the country applied to start the course in vernacular languages.
AICTE strives to reach out to all candidates, particularly those from rural and tribal regions who find it difficult to learn in English. In addition to Marathi, it intends to provide Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Bachelor of Technology (BTech) programmes in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, and Bengali.
“Looking at the first year’s response, we are hoping to get many more proposals for this academic year. The initiative has taken off well in the 20 approved colleges last year,” Sahasrabudhe added.
Colleges will receive the whole reading material in Marathi from the AICTE. The coursework was translated using specialised software that can quickly convert the whole engineering syllabus into 22 regional languages.
On NEP, Sahasrabudhe said, “This policy is important for the holistic development of students and for their education in various disciplines, both aspects being its main features.”
Meanwhile, the national conference organised by EPSI on the theme ‘National Education Policy 2020: Role of Private Sector in an Effective Implementation’ was inaugurated by Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
He said, “The NEP has given due importance to the opening up of the education sector to foreign universities, emphasis on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary learning and student-centric education.”
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