One-third of institutes in Gujarat not approved by AICTE

8220;The list has been sent to each State Council for Technical Education and Education Department. Because of negligence on the part of education departments, the students have to suffer. Their future is in doldrums now,8221; said a senior AICTE official.

He added: 8220;In the last three years, we have sent several notices to all the state education departments and notified them on regular intervals to keep an eye on the institutes functioning without the permission of AICTE. But till now, no one has taken these notices seriously.8221;

M N Patel, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Gujarat University, said it is a matter of shame for the state and its Education Department, as they failed to keep a track of such institutes.

8220;But we cannot blame only the Education Department for this. It is also a responsibility of students and their parents to check before taking admission in an institute whether it is approved by the AICTE,8221; added Patel, who is also the principal of L D College of Engineering, Ahmedabad.

Seeking anonymity, an official of the state Education Department told Newsline, 8220;There is no doubt that till date the department has no means to keep a track of non-permitted and non-approved institutes. In the absence of a strategy to check them, they continue to function.8221;