Good infrastructure and enrolment of students alone would not be able to ensure quality technical education if the teaching-learning process is not given focused attention, viewed All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe here on Friday.

“The process of learning in educational institutions needs to change as there is the need for the teacher to know what to teach to the student and how to do it. The problem is we are not addressing the problems that have been stalking the system,” Prof Sahasrabudhe said while speaking as chief guest at a conference on ‘Crisis in Technical Education’ at the SOA University here.

The two-day conference has been jointly organised by SOA and the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), New Delhi, as part of the 49th ISTE National Annual Faculty Convention.

Teachers don’t appreciate when a student tries his hand at innovation or has a streak of creativity and inquisitiveness and “that is killing education,” he said.

He claimed that the National Education Policy (NEP), presently in draft form, has all the ingredients to address the issues which had affected technical education in the country and overcome all the crisis.

SOA Advisory Board Chairman Prof Damodar Acharya said, “Exponential growth in its capacity, acute shortage of competent faculty, inability of the system to produce quality, skilled, competent and employable graduates had seriously eroded the attractiveness of engineering, management, pharmacy and architecture education.”

Anna University, Chennai VC Prof MK Surappa and SOA University VC Prof Amit Banerjee, NAAC Advisor Prof Amiya Kumar Rath and HRD Ministry Central Project Director Dr PM Khodke spoke. ISTE President Dr Pratapsinh K Desai presided.