All UG management courses to come under AICTE ambit soon

Announcing the move, the AICTE on Wednesday issued the Approval Process Handbook (APH) for 2024 till 2027. This handbook — which will be valid for three academic years for the first time — has introduced several changes in the approval process, with an aim to increase the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education to 50 per cent by 2035, which is 27 per cent at present, with close to 4 crore students enrolled in higher-educational institutions (HEIs) across India.

The biggest change was the AICTE approval mandate for UG level management and computer application courses, which will now be brought under its ambit. Post graduate (PG) courses in management and computer application were already subject to AICTE approvals, it said.

Professor T G Sitharam, AICTE chairman, said, “First time, UG courses will be brought under the AICTE’s ambit. This would not be a problem for the existing institutions as our council will ensure complete handholding through the process, including teachers’ training and development of curriculum.”

He also said that there will be no changes in the academic and governing structure of existing institutions offering UG courses in management and computer application. “They will operate in the same way… whichever university is availing them with a degree will continue to do so. But the courses will now require approval from the Council, which will also provide academic curriculum,” Sitharam added.