© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
IIT Guwahati Director T G Sitharam has been appointed chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
According to a government notification dated November 17, he will serve as the Council head for three years or before he turns 65 years old, whichever is earlier. The Indian Express has learned that AICTE vice chairperson M P Poonia and a professor from IIT Kanpur were among the other front runners for the job.
Sitharam will take over from UGC chairman Jagadesh Kumar, who was holding interim charge of the AICTE chairman post after Anil Sahasrabuddhe was released from his duties on September 1, 2021, upon turning 65 years old.
His appointment comes at a time when the Ministry of Education is putting final touches to a Bill that intends to merge the AICTE and the University Grants Commission into a super regulator called the Higher Education Commission of India.
Sitharam’s appointment creates a vacancy at IIT Guwahati since his term as director was only set to expire in July 2024.
Before he joined as Director of IIT Guwahati, he was a professor in the department of civil engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Earlier, he was a chair professor in the area of Energy and Mechanical Sciences at IISc. His research interests include rock mechanics and rock engineering, geotechnical earthquake engineering and earth dams and tailing ponds.
The Indian Express could not reach him for comment.
