All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE),New Delhi,has given a nod for 186 additional seats at the Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology from the present academic year,sources said. According to the authorities,the institute might also get the deemed university status in a few months along with 12 other institutes in the state. The process was delayed due to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. Speaking to Newsline,Jayesh Patel,chairman of Parul Arogya Seva Mandal,said: Of the 186 additional seats,150 seats will be at the undergraduate level and 36 seats at the postgraduate level." He added: "At the undergraduate level 90 additional seats of Civil Engineering and 60 additional seats of Computer Engineering have been sanctioned. For the postgraduate level,18 seats of Thermal Engineering in mechanical field and 18 seats of Digital Communication in Electronics and Communication field have been sanctioned." Nearly 360 additional seats have been sanctioned by AICTE in various branches of diploma engineering at the Parul Institute,Patel added. Institute officials said: This institute had applied for the deemed university status in 2008. Other institutes in Gujarat have also applied. An 18-member committee had visited the institute last year to take a look at the infrastructure and other aspects. The committee had 11 vice-chancellors and experts from across the state. The officials added,We just need a go-ahead from the Human Resource and Development ministry now. I feel there will be no more problems as no one will question the authority of 11 vice-chancellors and experts.
