The Ministry of Education notified Lok Sabha on Monday that the committee headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman B V R Mohan Reddy has advised that the moratorium, which had come into effect in 2020, should continue, “disallowing a few exceptions”.

“The development of the new capability can be examined every two years thereafter,” it had added.

AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe informed The Indian Express that the committee will specify the exceptions in its final report.

An AICTE official stated that the last report of the committee might enable addition of seats in non-traditional fields of engineering, new campuses in backwards locations and growth of existing organizations.

In its first report in 2019, the committee had actually observed that capability utilisation during 2017-18 in postgraduate and undergraduate level was 49.8 per cent (consumption capacity vs enrolment) and advised that no brand-new capacity be approved by AICTE starting from the scholastic year 2020.

Data shared by the Education Ministry shows that both approved consumption and total enrolment in engineering courses have actually declined over the years. From a decadal high of 31,82,285 approved intake in 2014, the number dipped to 23,66,728 in 2021-22. Overall enrolment came down to 12,75,880 in 2020-21 from a high of 17,84,127 in 2013-14.

The restriction on establishing of new engineering colleges in the country need to continue beyond 2022-23, when the ongoing two-year moratorium ends, a committee set up by the Union federal government has advised, pointing out low enrollment in engineering programmes.

” The Committee has held 3 meetings on 18.10.2021, 10.11.2021 & & 30.11.2021 and reviewed the Engineering Capacity, Enrolment and Placement Data over the last three years in Engineering Institutions. In the light of low enrolments into the Engineering and Diploma programmes throughout the nation, the Committee in its interim report sent in December, 2021 advised to continue the moratorium on authorizing new Engineering Colleges in the country barring a few exceptions,” Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a written action in Lok Sabha.

“It will not be a blanket ban. The exceptions will be clear by the end of December,” the authorities said.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had earlier announced a two-year moratorium starting 2020-21 on brand-new engineering organizations based upon a report by the Reddy committee, which was also tasked with evaluating the status of the restriction from academic year 2022-23.

The Reddy committee was set up in 2018 to prepare medium-term and short-term point of view plans for engineering education.

ExplainedWhy moratorium was presented
Information shared by the Education Ministry shows that both approved consumption and overall enrolment in engineering courses have actually declined over the years. From a decadal high of 31,82,285 approved consumption in 2014, the number dipped to 23,66,728 in 2021-22. Overall enrolment came down to 12,75,880 in 2020-21 from a high of 17,84,127 in 2013-14.