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TIEMS OF INDIA MAGAZINE Ranked VELAMMAL ENGINEERING COLLEGE SURAPET
Second Best college in Chennai (Click here to view Press Report)

Pvt engg colleges asked to mend ways (Dated:07.02.2009, Page:2 )

By Issuing Disaffiliation Notice To An Institute For Impersonating Staff, Anna University Has Sent A Message That It Won’t Compromise On The Quality Of Education In These Colleges

D Suresh Kumar | TNN

Chennai:

The decision of Anna University (Chennai) to issue a disaffiliation notice to the errant management of the PMR Institute of Technology here is seen as a step in the right direction that would prompt colleges to ensure quality in technical education.

For more than three years now, self-financing engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have been allowed a virtual free run with no ‘Big Brother’ breathing down their necks to maintain worthy standards of education. After the “era of inspections” during 2002 to 2005 when E Balagurusamy was the vice-chancellor, only now colleges have come under real time scrutiny for quality.
In the case of the PMR Institute, what shocked the authorities was that the management had dared to impersonate faculty members before inspection teams. P Mannar Jawahar, vice-chancellor, Anna University (Chennai) rightly put it that “this is the highest crime in an academic institution.”

Over the past five years, self-financing engineering colleges have mushroomed all over the state taking the number from over 200 in 2003 to 354 currently. Another 175 applications for establishing engineering colleges are pending before the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It is a known fact that many of these institutions function out of brick and mortar structures with ill-equipped laboratories and teaching facilities.

Professor Jawahar revealed that among the 130 engineering colleges affiliated to the Anna University (Chennai), “only 20 to 25 institutions have secured a weightage of 70% or above in terms of faculty, infrastructure and library stock. Most institutions have performed average with a score of around 50%.”

He made it clear that “if colleges do not have adequate number of faculty members or qualified teachers on their rolls, they can come out openly with the facts. Impersonating staff members is a fraud and cannot be accepted.”

In the past, managements of private colleges were known to have resorted to dubious means to hoodwink members of inspection teams. “During an inspection a few years ago, we had found that a college had actually borrowed library books from a neighbouring institution and shown it as their stock. From then on, inspection teams started the practice of randomly putting the college seal on the pages of library books making it impossible for institutions to duplicate the stocks,” recalled a professor of the Anna University.
Often private institutions fail to realise that they can not lure students using appealing brochures and publicity material for ever. “The students are after all the best brand ambassadors of an educational institution. If the first batch graduates don’t take back good memories of the institutions with them, then naturally the word of mouth bad publicity will affect the image of the college. Managements who have been focusing on quality have got the cream of meritorious students. There have been instances where top ranking students had opted for specific branch of engineering in reputable private colleges over other branches in Anna University,” a higher education department official observed. Jawahar hopes that the action against the PMR Institute will serve as a warning to other institutions to put their house in order. “We hope the institutions will improve step by step now,” he said.

Private engineering colleges in and around Chennai

that have maintained high standards:

SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam

Velammal Engineering College,
Surapet

St Joseph's College of Engineering, Chemmencherry

Meenakshi Sundararajan Engineering College, Kodambakkam

Sri Sairam Engineering College, West Tambaram

THE REQUIREMENTS

Number of self financing engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University (Chennai): 130

Break-up of weightage given by Anna University (Chennai) while giving affiliated status to a college:

Faculty strength: 50%

Infrastructure & laboratories 30%

Library (books & journals) 10%

Others 10%

THE REALITY

Of the 130 colleges, thhe number of those who scored 70% & above during the assessment for affiliation: 25

The number of colleges with overall score averaging 50%: 100

Most colleges face acute shortage of faculty

In many colleges, BE graduates serve as faculty members due to the shortage

Very few PhD holders among faculty in engineering streams

Libraries and laboratories in many of these private colleges are ill-equipped

(Figures are for the current academic year. Scores according to vice chancellor, Anna University (Chennai)

Note:

The list is only indicative and not exhaustive. There are other colleges which have very good infrastructure and academic ambience. Some of the reputed colleges also collect a hefty donation for admitting students under the management quota

If colleges do not have an adequate number of faculty members, they can be open about it. Impersonating staff members is a fraud and unacceptable
P Mannar Jawahar | VICE-CHANCELLOR, ANNA UNIVERSITY (CHENNAI)

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