The post of chairman of the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), which has been lying vacant for the past several months after the suspension of then chairman R.A. Yadav, who is facing a CBI inquiry in several corruption cases, may be filled soon.
The Union human resources development ministry has initiated the process of recruitment for a new AICTE chairman. The move comes after Mr Yadav was suspended in July last year in connection with the corruption case registered against him by the CBI.
Official sources said that the ministry has sought applications from distinguished and renowned persons from the field of technical education for the post. AICTE is a statutory body under the HRD ministry which regulates the operations of technical institutes in the country.
Sources said that the decision to appoint a new chairman for the regulator is likely to help the technical education system in the country as the government is trying to create transparency in the system.
The government has already announced an ambitious revamp of AICTE’s accreditation process to bring in transparency in the working of the regulatory body after allegations of corruption.
The entire registration and approval process for all new engineering and management institutions in the country has been made online. Sources said that AICTE has also been directed to issue unique identification numbers to faculty members of AICTE-approved institutions, a mechanism that will help check the trend of certain faculties working in multiple institutions. The biometric impression of each faculty member will be taken to track his movement. The AICTE will also put in place a mechanism to help students lodge their grievances against the institutes.