Managements of Engineering Colleges stunned by sudden AICTE raids

The ‘surprise raids’ carried out by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is sending shock waves through the managements of engineering colleges across the state.

As many as 106 colleges in the state were issued notices for varied offences, ranging from violating land rules to collecting capitation fee, donations and cheating students.

Prominent engineering colleges like Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology (MGIT), Sri Nidhi, Gurunanak, Bharat, Sultan-ul-Uloom, Bharat, Aurora and so on figure in the list of colleges which were issued notices by AICTE.

The AICTE has summoned the managements of 106 engineering colleges to its headquarters in New Delhi on April 21 for their explanations before the ‘hearing committee’ on the violations detected during the raids.

While the AICTE has issued notices to some colleges based on the ‘deficiencies’ detected during its surprise raids, some colleges got notices based on the CBI raids that were conducted following the arrest of then-AICTE member secretary, Mr Narayan Rao, in July 2009 while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to grant approval for an engineering college.

The AICTE has threatened to issue a ‘closure notice’ to those colleges which fail to provide a satisfactory explanation.

Sources in AICTE maintained that the CBIT and MGIT, which figure in the list of top-10 colleges in the state, and both owned by the same management, violated land norms.

It was learnt that the management registered the land in Gandipet in the name of one society, secured approval and later transferred the colleges to another society, but ignored the land transfer, which is considered a major offence as per AICTE norms.

Additionally, some parents and students lodged specific complaints against the management with the AICTE, for collecting capitation fee and donations.

Also, the Sultan-Ul-Uloom Educational Society, which runs Muffakham Jah Engineering College in Banjara Hills, has not produced valid land documents till now, despite being in operation for several years.