Change in Engg admissions eligibility may face hurdles in implementation

By Mehboob Inamdar

Aurangabad, March 13:

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)'s decision to change subjects eligibility criteria for undergraduate engineering degree course admissions may face difficulties in implementation.

It may be noted that the new National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented from next year. The implementation of NEP will bring major changes in the education field.

Opening a window for NEP, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) released an approval process handbook for admission for the academic year (AY) 2021-22, making changes in engineering admission eligibility criteria.

In the new criteria, it will not be compulsory for candidates to take Physics and Mathematics subjects in 12th standard. Until the current AY’s admission process, Mathematics and Physics subjects were mandatory for admission to B E or B Tech across the country. The Council asked the college to offer a bridge course for candidates who join the course without studying Physics and Mathematics.

The decision is likely to face hurdles in implementation as the subjects are the basis of engineering.

Principal of Government College Dr P B Murnal said that NEP, a vision document and would be implemented from next year, would stress multi-disciplinary learning with multiple entries and exit options.

“Today, the candidates even after studying Physics and Mathematics in 12th, find some subjects study tough in engineering,” he said

Dr Murnal said that as per NEP, students would be able to select subjects of choice across the stream, however, the sudden implementation of not making Physics and Mathematics decision will not be easy.

“I think that the NEP should be implemented from school and revise curricula. This will strengthen school and junior college students knowledge in the subjects' foundation and then candidates would be able to go for multi-disciplinary in future. This kind of approach is available in foreign countries,” he said.

Dr Mazhar Farooqui, principal of Maulana Azad College, said that Mathematics is a language to under the facts while physics is a science to learn a natural phenomenon. “I feel that one who wish to become the best engineering must take the subjects thought it would be an option in coming days,” he said.

Dr Ajit Thete, the former joint director of Technical Education, said that there would two benefits with the implementation of the new AICTE admission criteria decision.

“The first is that the objective of the multi-disciplinary approach achieved. The second is that some courses need minimum knowledge of both the subjects. Names of some of the courses Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Cybersecurity.

However, before that, there is need to change curricula from school level so that students should have minimum competence. Also, bridge courses need to be offered to have required knowledge of the subjects,” he added.

Shaikh Sumair, aspirants of the Engineering course, said that the decision would attract more students toward engineering admissions but do not know how students will learn the basics of Physics and Mathematics after admissions.

As per the released approval process handbook of the AICTE, now students who aspire to become engineers can have any of these subjects in class 12 - mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, information technology, computer science, electronic science, engineering graphics, informatics practices, biotechnology, agriculture, business studies, technical vocational.