HC notice to Govt engg colleges on seat hike

The Odisha High Court on Tuesday issued notices to at least six Government engineering colleges in the State, including the Vir Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), to explain how they would increase the number of seats in certain courses of their institutions in the current academic session without getting due approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Posting the matter to be heard again on July 6, a Division Bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanti and DP Choudhury issued notices to the institutions while adjudicating a petition filed by the Odisha Private Engineering Colleges’ Association (OPECA). 

The petition challenged the decision of the Government institutions to increase their seats by over 600 from this year without prior approval of the AICTE.

“The AICTE approval is binding for every technical institution before introducing new courses or increasing the number of seats in the existing courses,” the petition said, adding that about six Government colleges have increased the seats of existing courses without the approval of the regulatory body.