The All Indian Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has tweaked the eligibility criteria for undergraduate engineering programmes, permitting higher education institutions to admit students who have not studied Physics and Mathematics in school to streams such as textile engineering and biotechnology.
Students aspiring to pursue B.Tech may no longer have to study Physics and Mathematics compulsorily in high school for specific engineering branches.
The All Indian Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has tweaked the eligibility criteria for undergraduate engineering programmes, permitting higher education institutions to admit students who have not studied Physics and Mathematics in school to streams such as textile engineering and biotechnology.
The above change, AICTE Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe said on Friday, is not binding on state governments and engineering schools. The flexibility in the eligibility criteria for admission to B.Tech and B.E., he said, has been introduced to encourage students from diverse backgrounds to apply and reduce the pressure on students to study topics that are not crucial to their programme.
“We have introduced the above flexibility with the caveat that programmes that require prior knowledge of Physics and Mathematics will continue to expect its students to have studied the two subjects in school. For instance, Physics and Mathematics will remain compulsory for a student keen on studying mechanical engineering,” Sahasrabudhe told reporters at a press conference held Friday.
“But, suppose an institution feels the two subjects are not crucial to a branch, say, like biotechnology or textile engineering. In that case, the institution shouldn’t have to insist on the candidate having studied the two subjects in school because the AICTE rulebook says so. They can offer bridge courses for that purpose,” he said. “For such programmes, the institution can admit
students that have studied any three subjects out of the new list of 14.”
The list of 14 subjects includes Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electronics, Information Technology, Biology, Informatics Practices, Biotechnology, Technical Vocational subject, Agriculture, Engineering Graphics, Business Studies and Entrepreneurship.
Students need to pass in any three subjects from the list with a minimum of 45 per cent marks in class 12 board examination to be able to apply for admission in undergraduate courses in engineering, according to the revised rules of AICTE.
“Universities will offer suitable bridge courses such as Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Drawing, for students coming from diverse backgrounds to achieve desired learning outcome of the programme,” the new approval handbook for 2021-22 states.
Sahasrabudhe said the above change is in line with the new National Education Policy that advocates flexibility and multi-disciplinary courses and innovation.
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