The most sought-after profession of the day, education and training is engineering and technology at different levels ( diploma, degree and post graduation), is regulated by the All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE). Established under the AICTE ACT, 1987, AICTE is the largest regulatory authority in the country which looks after wide range of subjects, viz., all branches of engineering, information technology and computer applications (MCA), architecture and planning, pharmacy, fine arts and crafts, management (both MBA and postgraduate diploma), and hotel management and catering technology. Two other regulatory functions are:
(1). accreditation of courses offered by recognised engineering and technology institutions. For this purpose, it has set up the National Board of Accredition (NBA) and has made it mandatory for the institutions to get each course accredited after two batches have passed out of it; and
(2). regulating the entry and operation of foreign universities and institutions imparting technical education in India.
The AICTE is not just a regulatory agency. It also performs several functions of which the most important one is the creation of a pool of competent teachers for engineering and technical institutions through several programmes, such as career award scheme, visiting professorship scheme, visiting professorship scheme, quality improvement program for polytechnic to teachers. In order to attract qualified persons for the teaching profession, the AICTE has also framed salary structures for different grades of teachers.
