The Kerala High Court on Thursday said that private engineering institutes where pass percentage was less than 40 % should be closed down. More than 70 % of the private engineering institutes in Kerala will have to down shutters if the court’s order is implemented, according to managements and experts.
While considering a petition related to the affiliation of self financing engineering institutes, the court said that the Govt. should take steps in this direction on the basis of the pass percentages in the colleges in the last 3 years. The students of such under-performing colleges should be shifted to other colleges while closing them down, the court instructed.
A division bench comprising Justices Babu Mathew P Joseph and CN Ramachandran Nair gave the order after examining the results the private institutes had achieved between 2008 and 2011. It also asked the Govt. to consider raising the marks required to qualify for eligibility test from the present 50 %.
Noticing that the higher education standard in the State had deteriorated, the court asked the private engineering institutes to publish the results for the last 3 years on their websites so that the students could decide which college they should opt to join.
The High Court said that the Govt. and the All India Council for Technical Education should take necessary steps to enhance the academic standards in the engineering institutes. The court gave the instruction after studying the report of a committee that had looked into the infrastructure and academic conditions of the self-financing engineering institutes.
GPC Nair of the Kerala State Private Engineering College Managements Association said the High Court order could help in improving the study standards if implemented but highlighted that this was impractical.
“Tens of thousands of students would be out of the colleges. Kerala does not have enough institutes to absorb them.”
GPC Nair
Stating that implementation of the court would mean closure of 70 % of the self-financing colleges; Nair said the Govt. and universities should examine ways to improve the academic standards. He said one of the reasons for the present crisis was the non-availability of “quality students” for admission in the engineering institutes.
Academic experts pointed out that there was a tendency among the parents to somehow buy seats in engineering colleges for their children without considering their aptitudes, interests and qualification.
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