AICTE move to enforce 1:20 faculty-student ratio draws flak

The Private Educational Institutions Employees' Association (PEIEA), formed recently to highlight grievances of staff members in private engineering colleges, has written to the Prime Minister's Office opposing AICTE's move to enforce 1:20 faculty-student ratio.

The new ratio in the place of 1:15 faculty-student ratio has been published in the AICTE's approval process handbook for 2018-19.

The PEIEA president, K.M. Karthik, sought retention of the existing ratio, expressing apprehensions that one lakh qualified engineering professors who are all post-graduates in engineering/sciences and humanities will be removed from their present employment.

Regressive action

At a time when other countries are increasing the strength of faculties, the modification in the ratio advocated by AICTE was a regressive action.

As per the statistics of AICTE, 15 lakh engineers come out of the 3,000 odd private/self financing engineering institutions in India. The modification in the faculty-student ratio will reflect in lakhs of students facing consequences of staff deprivation.

Ultimately, the nation will lose its greatest wealth of qualified human resource and cause mass unemployment of the post, the letter said.

The association also sought bringing teachers working in private self-financing educational institutions in the country under the ambit of The Trade Unions Act 1926.

Separate national level welfare boards or directorates are also needed for private school employees and private college employees, the letter said.

Source