History of Higher Education (Technical Education) in India and Karnataka

Name: Roopashree H. R.
Reg No: 1347102

I.HISTORY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN INDIA

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels:central, state, and local. Takshasila was the earliest recorded centre of higher learning in India from at least 5th century BCE and it is debatable whether it could be regarded a university or not. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world in the modern sense of university. Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj.

Technical Graduates: The number of graduates coming out of technical colleges increased to over 700,000 in 2011 from 550,000 in FY 2010. However, according to one study, 75% of technical graduates and more
than 85% of general graduates are unemployable by India's most demanding and high-growth global industries, including information technology. Nevertheless, that still means that India offers the largest pool of technically skilled graduates in the world

The history of imparting formal technical education in India can be traced back to mid-19th century, although it got momentum in 20th century with the setup of Constitution of Technical Education Committee of the Central University Board of Education (CABE) in 1943; Preparation of Sergeant Report in 1944 and Formation of All India Council of technical Education (AICTE) in 1945. With the country gaining independence in 1947, the development of technical education had become a major concern for the government of India to face the new challenges and move the country forward.



In order to maintain the standard of technical education, a statutory authority- The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)- was set up in 1945. AICTE irresponsible for planning, formulation and
maintenance of norms and standards, quality assurance through accreditation, funding in priority areas, monitoring and evaluation, maintaining parity of certification and awards and ensuring coordinated and integrated development and management of technical education in the country[1].

The beginning of formal Technical Education in India can be dated back to the mid-19th Century. The major policy initiatives in the pre-independence period included the appointment of the Indian Universities Commission in 1902, the issue of the Indian Education policy resolution in 1904 and the Governor General's policy statement of 1913 stressing the importance of Technical Education. The establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Institute for Sugar, Textile and Leather Technology in Kanpur, the
National Council of Education in Bengal in 1905 and the Industrial Schools in several Information in this section has been taken from the website of AICTE, accessed in March 2007. 12 provinces marks the dawn
of the technical education in India in the early twentieth century

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was set-up by the Government of India in November 1945 as a national level Apex Advisory Body to survey the national facilities for technical
education and to promote their development in a coordinated and integrated manner. To ensure this and

as stipulated by the National Policy of Education (1986), AICTE was vested with statutory authority for planning, formulation and maintenance of norms and standards, quality assurance through accreditation, funding in priority areas, monitoring and evaluation, maintaining parity of certification and awards and ensuring coordinated and integrated development and management of technical education in the country.

The AICTE Bill was introduced in both the Houses of Parliament and passed as the AICTE Act No. 52 of 1987. The Act came into force with effect from 28 March 1988. The statutory All India Council for
Technical Education was established on 12 May 1988 with a view to proper planning and coordinated development of technical education system throughout the country, the promotion of qualitative
improvement of such education in relation to planned quantitative growth and the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the technical education system and for matters connected
therewith[2].

The purview of AICTE (the Council) covers programs of technical education including training and research in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Town Planning, Management, Pharmacy, Applied Arts and
Crafts, Hotel Management and Catering Technology etc. at different levels.

The set up of Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and Indian Institutes of Science was a major step in the development of technical education in the country. The quality of
education of these institutes has managed to change the outlook of India so much that this ancient country which was earlier known for yoga and meditation is now known for computer engineers. However, it
does not mean that the challenge of making technical education accessible to the rural populace and other under developed sections of the society has been overcome

II.HISTORY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN KARNATAKA

Some of the technical skilled educational institutions are started before Independence (since 1943), by name "Occupational Institutes". Then later, these are renamed as "Polytechnics"(multiple technical skills/many technical skills). All these Polytechnics were working under "Public Instruction Department", since before independence to till 1959.Since number of Polytechnics and Technical degree colleges are increased, the new department called "Technical Education Department" came into existence in 1959.[3]

A) University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) was established in the year 1917, under the name Government Engineering College, by Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya, and was affiliated to
University of Mysore. It is the 5th Engineering College to be established in the country. This is one of the oldest technical institutions in the country, imparting technical education leading to B.E, M.E, B.Arch, M.Sc (Engineering) and Ph D degrees in the various disciplines of Engineering and Architecture. The college is approved by the AICTE and the Government of Karnataka. The departments are accredited with five A+ for three years by the National Board of Accreditation, New Delhi.[4]

B) Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) is a collegiate public state university in Karnataka State, India. It was established on 1 April 1998 by the Government of Karnatakaas per VTU Act 1994, to
improve the quality of technical education in the state. Apart from a few notable exceptions, VTU has complete authority in the state of Karnataka. It is a statutory requirement for colleges offering any
program in engineering or technology in the state to be affiliated with the university.[5]

The university is named after Sir Visvesvaraya from Karnataka, the only engineer to be awarded a Bharat Ratna award, the highest civilian award in India. JnanaSangama, Belgaum is the headquarters of VTU.
Additionally, the university has three regional centers located in Bangalore, Gulbarga andMysore.

VTU is one of the largest universities in India with 208 colleges affiliated to it with an intake capacity of over 67100 undergraduate students and 12666postgraduate students. The university encompasses various technical & management fields which offers a total of 30 undergraduate [11] and 71 postgraduate courses.

III.CHALLENGES AND THE WAY FORWARD IN HIGHER TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN INDIA

Ø Need for a policy framework: Emphasizing the present status of technical education in India, Prof P Rama Rao, ARCI, and Hyderabadsuggested the need for a policy framework for improving the quality of
technical education in the country[2].

Ø Need for strengthening: In terms of the data, 97% of 10, 60,000 annual intakes of students are being accounted by the private institutions. The annual intake of students in all Indian Institute of Technology is 7,500, National Institute of Technology 35,000 and the rest i.e. 10, 17,500 is accounted by the private institutions. This, viewed along with the lowering of quality of engineering education, highlights the dysfunctional accreditation process and the need for strengthening the process to improve the quality of technical education.

Comparing the number of engineers graduating in a year, at different levels for India and the USA, Dr Rao indicated that only 5% of the Bachelor degree holders from India go for the Masters degree whereas the corresponding figure for USA is about 50%. The total Ph.D. degree holders in engineering discipline in India for the year 2009-10 is only 1500 whereas for USA it is 7500.

Looking at sector-wise data, in the field of aeronautical engineering the total number of students per year in B.Tech is 285, M.Tech 175 and PhD only 30. The scenario is not very different and encouraging for
the computer science and geology disciplines. India is also witnessing an acute shortage of faculty in engineering discipline which is about 50,000.



Ø Regional imbalance: There is also a regional imbalance in engineering education establishments. More than 505 of the engineering colleges are located in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu which does not auger well for the balanced socio-economic development of the country.

Ø Absence of international flavor: Dr Rao also identified problems like absence of international flavor in both student and faculty, low research activity across the disciplines and asymmetry in technology assessment which are areas of concern and need policy guidelines.

Ø Level of excellence resources: India has success stories in technical education and human resource generation which can guide in policy formulation. Dr Y Nayudamma's model of balanced development of
the Indian leather sector through an academia-industry partnership and Institute of Chemical Technology established in the year 1933 are among the few examples that can be emulated. The level of excellence,
resources and level of autonomy should be synchronized in a policy for achieving quality technical education in India in the next five years.

Ø Complex relationship: Public-Private partnership is a complex relationship which needs well thought out policy guidelines along with proper checks and balances. Drawing upon the US experience in generating wealth for the nation by investing in academic Research and Development, Dr Rao stressed the need for increasing the R & D funding in India for building and sustaining a modern and vibrant nation.

Refrences:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India
2. TECHNICAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA: PRESENT SCENARIO:IJRESS
Volume 2, Issue 10 (October 2012) ISSN: 2249-7382 by Prof.Shivani
and ShashiKaurana
3. www.dte.kar.nic.im
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Visvesvaraya_College_of_Engineering
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visvesvaraya_Technological_University