Biju Patnaik University of Technology in Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Bhubaneswar, April 22: The Biju Patnaik University of Technology today clarified that they would continue to affiliate and renew affiliations of various technical colleges in the state.

In its order on April 2013, the Supreme Court had debarred the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE ) from regulating technical educational institutions and had handed over the responsibility to the University Grants Commission — the apex body that regulates all the universities in the country. Subsequently, the BPUT had called for applications for affiliation from technical colleges of the state.

The Odisha Technical Colleges’ Association (OTCA) has moved Supreme court challenging the decision following which the apex court on April 17, 2014, is said to have passed an interim order allowing the AICTE to have regulatory control over technical educational institutions in the country for the 2014-15 academic year.

The latest order created confusion among technical colleges in the state who have applied for re-affiliation. However, the BPUT today denied any changes in the ongoing affiliation process. “We have not yet received any communication from the UGC or the AICTE. Applications have already been invited from technical colleges and the last date is May 5. At this point, we cannot stop the process until there are any orders from the higher authorities,” said BPUT registrar Mihir Nayak.

OTCA president Biswajit Mohanty said that on April 17, the apex court, represented by a bench of Justice R.M. Lodha and Justice Kurian Joseph, had allowed the AICTE to have regulatory control over technical institutions.

The apex court has also asked the AICTE to issue necessary orders in this regard within 10 days, reveals a copy of the court order.

The association has 62 technical colleges in the state. These colleges were apprehensive that giving absolute powers to the universities would make them prone to exploitation. Promoters of these colleges were afraid that the state government would unnecessarily interfere in their affairs.

“The AICTE’s control over technical institutions is necessary to ensure quality in technical education. The UGC being an agency to offer grants, it had no technical expertise to ensure norms in technical institutions. If delegated the role to regulate technical institutes, it will dilute the quality of technical institutions in the country,” said Mohanty.