The All India Council for Technical Education
Act,1987
No.52 OF
1987
[23rd December, 1987.]
An
Act to provide for the establishment of an All India Council for
Technical Education with a view to the proper planning and
co-ordinated development of the technical education system
throughout the country, the promotion of qualitative improvement of
such education in relation to planned quantitative growth and the
regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the
technical education system and for matters connected
therewith.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-eighth
Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
Comment: The basic purpose of
this Act is to provide a system for improvement of technical
education in India.
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1.Short title and
commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the All India Council
for Technical Education Act, 1987.
(2) It shall come into
force on such date { 28-3-1988 Vide Notification No.S.O.317 (E),
dated 28.3.1988 }as the Central Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, appoint.
2.Definitions.- In this
Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Commission"
means the University Grants Commission established under section 4
of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of
1956);
(b) "Council" means the All India Council for
Technical Education established under section 3;
(c) "Fund"
means the Fund of the Council constituted under section
16;
(d) "member" means a member of the Council and includes
the Chairman and Vice-Chairman;
(e) "prescribed" means
prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(f) "regulations"
means regulations made under this Act;
(g) "technical
education" means programmes of education, research and training in
engineering technology, architecture, town planning, management,
pharmacy and applied arts and crafts and such other programme or
areas as the Central Government may, in consultation with the
Council, by notification in the Official Gazette,
declare;
(h) "technical institution" means an institution,
not being a University, which offers courses or programmes of
technical education and shall include such other institutions as the
Central Government may, in consultation with the Council, by
notification in the Official Gazette, declare as technical
institutions;
(I) "University" means a University defined
under clause (f) of section 2 of the University Grants Commission
Act, 1956 (3 of 1956) and includes an institution deemed to be a
University under section 3 of that Act.
CHAPTER
II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL
3.Establishment of the
Council.- (1) With effect from such date as the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint,
there shall be established a Council by the name of the All India
Council for Technical Education.
(2) The Council shall be a
body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession
and a common seal, with power to contract and shall by the said name
sue and be sued.
(3) The head office of the Council shall be
at Delhi and Council may, with the previous approval of the Central
Government, establish offices at other places in India.
(4)
The Council shall consist of the following members,
namely:-
(a) a Chairman to be appointed by the Central
Government.
(b) a Vice-Chairman to be appointed by the
Central Government;
(c) the Secretary to the Government of
India in the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with
education, ex officio;
(d) the Educational Adviser (General)
to the Government of India, ex officio;
(e) the Chairmen of
the four Regional Committees, ex officio;
(f) the Chairmen
of,-
(I) the All India Board of Vocational Education, ex
officio;
(ii) the All India Board of Technician Education, ex
officio;
(iii) the All India Board of Under-graduate Studies
in Engineering and Technology, ex officio;
(iv) the All India
Board of Post graduate Education and Research in Engineering and
Technology, ex officio;
(v) the All India Board of Management
Studies, ex officio;
(g) one member to be appointed by the
Central Government to represent the Ministry of Finance of the
Central Government;
(h) one member to be appointed by the
Central Government to represent the Ministry of Science and
Technology of the Central Government;
(I) four members to be
appointed by the Central Government by rotation to represent the
Ministries and the Departments of the Central Government, other than
those specified in clauses (g) and (h);
(j) two members of
Parliament of whom one shall be elected by the House of the People
and one by the Council of States;
(k) eight members to be
appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical
order to represent the States and the Union
territories:
Provided that an appointment under this clause
shall be made on the recommendation of the Government of the State,
or as the case may be, the Union territory concerned;
(j)
four members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent
the organisations in the field of industry and commerce;
(m)
seven members to be appointed by the Central Government to
represent,-
(I) the Central Advisory Board of
Education;
(ii) the Association of Indian
Universities;
(iii) the Indian Society for Technical
Education;
(iv) the Council of the Indian Institutes of
Technology;
(v) the Pharmacy Council of India;
(vi)
the Council of Architecture;
(vii) the National Productivity
Council;
(n) four members to be appointed by the Central
Government to represent the professional bodies in the field of
technical and management education;
(o) not more than two
members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent such
interests not covered by the foregoing clauses as the Central
Government may deem fit;
(p) the Chairman, University Grants
Commission, ex officio;
(q) the Director, Institute of
Applied Manpower Research, New Delhi, ex office;
(r) the
Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, ex
officio;
(s) the Director-General, Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research, ex officio;
(t) Member-Secretary to be
appointed by the Central Government.
(5) Notwithstanding
anything contained in sub-section (4),-
(a) the first
Chairman shall be the Minister of Human Resource Development of the
Central Government;
(b) the first Vice-Chairman of the
Council shall be the Minister of State for Education of the Central
Government;
(c) the first Member-Secretary of the Council
shall be the Educational Adviser (Technical) of the Central
Government.
4.Term of
office of members.- (1) The term of office of a member, other
than an ex officio member, on the first constitution of the Council
shall be five years and thereafter three years.
(2) If a
casual vacancy occurs in the office of the Chairman, whether by
reason of his death, resignation or inability to discharge his
functions owing to illness or other incapacity, the Vice-Chairman
holding office as such for the time being shall act as the Chairman
and shall, unless any other person is appointed earlier as the
Chairman, hold office of the Chairman for the remainder of the term
of office of the person in whose place he is to so act.
(3)
If a casual vacancy occurs in the office of the Vice-Chairman or any
other member, whether by reason of his death, resignation or
inability to discharge his functions owing to illness or other
incapacity, such vacancy shall be filled by the Central Government
by making a fresh appointment and the member so appointed shall hold
office for the remainder of the term of office of the person in
whose place he is so appointed.
(4) The Vice-Chairman shall
perform such functions as may be assigned to him by the Chairman
from time to time.
(5) The procedure to be followed by the
members in the discharge of their functions shall be such as may be
prescribed.
5.Meetings of the Council.-
(1) The Council shall meet at such time and places, and shall
observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of
business at its meetings (including the quorum at such meetings) as
may be provided by regulations:
Provided that the Council
shall meet at least once every year.
(2) The Chairman and in
his absence the Vice-Chairman shall preside at the meetings of the
Council.
(3) If for any reason the Chairman or the
Vice-Chairman is unable to attend any meeting of the Council, any
other member chosen by the members present at the meeting shall
preside at the meeting.
(4) All questions which come up
before any meeting of the Council shall be decided by a majority of
the votes of the members present and voting, and in the event of an
equality of votes, the Chairman, or in his absence, the person
presiding, shall have and exercise a second or casting
vote.
6.Vacancies,
etc., not to invalidate proceedings of the Council.- No act or
proceeding of the Council shall be invalid merely by reason
or-
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of,
the Council; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person
acting as a member of the Council; or
(c) any irregularity in
the procedure of the Council not affecting the merits of the
case.
7.Temporary
association of persons with the Council for particular purposes.-
(1) The Council may associate with itself, in such manner and
for such purposes as may be determined by regulations, any person
whose assistance or advice it may desire in carrying out any of the
provisions of this Act.
(2) A person associated with it by
the Council under sub-section (1) for any purpose shall have a right
to take part in the discussions relevant to that purpose, but shall
not have a right to vote at a meeting of the Council, and shall not
be a member for any other purpose.
8.Appointment of officers and
other employees of the Council.- (1) For the purpose of enabling
it efficiently to discharge its functions under this Act, the
Council shall, subject to such regulations as may be ma in this
behalf appoint (Whether on deputation or otherwise) such number of
officers and other employees as it may consider
necessary:
Provided that the appointment of such category of
officers, as may be specified in such regulations, shall be subject
to the approval of the Central Government.
(2) Every officer
of other employee appointed by the Council shall be subject to such
conditions of service and shall be entitled to such remuneration as
may be determined by regulations.
9.Authentication of orders and
other instruments of the Council.- All orders and decisions of
the Council shall be authenticated by the Signature of the Chairman
or any other member authorised by the Council in this behalf, and
all other instruments issued by the Council shall be authenticated
by the signature of the Member-Secretary or any other officer of the
Council authorised in like manner in this behalf.
CHAPTER III
POWERS
AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL
10.Functions of the
Council.- It shall be the duty of the Council to take all such
steps as it may think fit for ensuring coordinated and integrated
development of technical education and maintenance of standards and
for the purposes for performing its functions under this Act, the
Council may-
(a) undertake survey in the various fields of
technical education, collect data on all related matters and make
forecast of the
(b) coordinate the development of technical
education I the country at all levels;
(c) allocate and
disburse out of the Fund of the Council such grants on such terms
and conditions as it may think fit to-
(I) technical
institutions, and
(ii) Universities imparting technical
education in coordination with the Commission;
(d) promote
innovations, research and development in established and new
technologies, generation, adoption and adaptation of new
technologies to meet developmental requirements and for over-all
improvement of educational processes;
(e) formulate schemes
for promoting technical education for women, handicapped and weaker
sections of the society;
(f) promote an effective link
between technical education system and other relevant systems
including research and development organisations, industry and the
community;
(g) evolve suitable performance appraisal systems
for technical institutions and Universities imparting technical
education, incorporating norms and mechanisms for enforcing
accountability;
(h) formulate schemes for the initial and
in-service training of teachers and identify institution or centres
and set up new centres for offering staff development programmes
including continuing education of teachers;
(I) lay down
norms and standards for courses, curricula, physical and
instructional facilities, staff pattern, staff qualifications,
quality instructions, assessment and examinations;
(j) fix
norms and guidelines for charging tuition and other fees;
(k)
grant approval for starting new technical institutions and for
introduction of new courses or programmes in consultation with the
agencies concerned;
(l) advise the Central Government in
respect of grant of charter to any professional body or institution
in the field of technical education conferring powers, rights and
privileges on it for the promotion of such profession in its field
including conduct of examinations and awarding of membership
certificates;
(m) lay down norms for granting autonomy to
technical institutions;
(n) take all necessary steps to
prevent commercialisation of technical education;
(o) provide
guidelines for admission of students to technical institutions and
Universities imparting technical education;
(p) inspect or
cause to inspect any technical institution;
(q) withhold or
discontinue grants in respect of courses, programmes to such
technical institutions which fail to comply with the directions
given by the Council within the stipulated period of time and take
such other steps as may be necessary for ensuring compliance of the
directions of the Council;
(r) take steps to strengthen the
existing organisations, and to set up new organisations to ensure
effective discharge of the Council's responsibilities and to create
positions of professional, technical and supporting staff based on
requirements;
(s) declare technical institutions at various
levels and types offering courses in technical education fit to
receive grants;
(t) advise the Commission for declaring any
institution imparting technical education as a deemed
University;
(u) set up a National Board of Accreditation to
periodically conduct evaluation of technical institutions or
programmes on the basis of guidelines, norms and standards specified
by it and to make recommendation to it, or to the Council, or to the
Commission or to other bodies, regarding recognition or
de-recognition of the Institution or the programme;
(v)
perform such other functions as may be prescribed.
11.Inspection.- (1) For the
purposes of ascertaining the financial needs of technical
institution or a University or its standards of teaching,
examination and research, the Council may cause an inspection of any
department or departments of such technical institution or
University to be made in such manner as may be prescribed and by
such person or person as it may direct.
(2) The Council shall
communicate to the technical institution or University the date on
which any inspection under sub-section (1) is to be made and the
technical institution or University shall be entitled to be
associated with the inspection in such manner as may be
prescribed.
(3) The Council shall communicate to the
technical institution or the University, its views in regard to the
results of any such inspection and may, after ascertaining the
opinion of that technical institution or University, recommend to
that institution or University the action to be taken as a result of
such inspection.
(4) All communications to a technical
institution or University under this section shall be made to the
executive authority thereof and the executive authority of the
technical institution or University shall report to the Council the
action, if any, which is proposed to be taken for the purposes of
implementing any such recommendation as is referred to tin
sub-section (3).
CHAPTER IV
BODIES OF THE
COUNCIL.
12.Executive
Committee of the Council.- (1) The Council shall constitute a
Committee, called the Executive Committee for discharging such
functions as may be assigned to it by the Council.
(2) The
Executive Committee shall consist of the following members,
namely:-
(a) the Chairman of the Council;
(b) the
Vice-Chairman of the Council;
(c) Secretary to the Government
of India in the Ministry of the Central Government dealing with
Education, ex officio;
(d) two Chairmen of the Regional
Committees;
(e) three Chairmen of the Boards of
Studies;
(f) a member of the Council representing the
Ministry of Finance of the Central Government, ex
officio;
(g) four out of eight members of the Council
representing the States and Union territories under clause (k) of
sub-section (4) of section 3;
(h) four members with expertise
and distinction in areas relevant to Technical Education to be
nominated by the Chairman of the Council;
(I) the Chairman of
the University Grants Commission, ex officio;
(j) the
Director, Institute of Applied Manpower Research, New Delhi, ex
officio;
(k) the Director General, Indian Council of
Agricultural Research, ex officio;
(I) the Member-Secretary
of the Council.
(3) The Chairman and the Member-Secretary of
the Council shall, respectively, function as the Chairman and the
Member-Secretary of the Executive Committee.
(4) The Chairman
or in his absence, the Vice-Chairman of the Council shall preside at
the meetings of the Executive Committee and in the absence of both
the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman.any other member chosen by the
members present at the meeting shall preside at the
meeting.
(5) The Executive Committee shall meet at such time
and places, and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to
the transaction of business at its meetings )including the quorum at
such meetings) as the Council may provide by regulations.
13.Boards of Studies.- (1)
The Council shall establish the following Boards of Studies,
namely:-
(I) All India Board of Vocational
Education;
(ii) All India Board of Technician
Education;
(iii) All India Board of Under-graduate Studies in
Engineering and Technology;
(iv) All India Board of
Post-graduate Education and Research in Engineering and
Technology;
(v) All India board of Management
Studies.
(2) The Council may, if it considers necessary,
establish such other Boards of Studies as it may think
fit.
(3) Every Board of Studies shall advise the Executive
Committee on academic matters falling in its area of concern
including norms standards, model curricula, model facilities and
structure of courses.
(4) The area of concern, powers, the
constitution and functions of the Boards of Studies shall be such as
the Council may provide by regulations.
14.Regional Committees.-
(1) The Council shall establish the following Regional Committees,
namely:-
(I) The Northern Regional Committee with its office
at Kanpur;
(ii) The Southern Regional Committee with its
office at Madras;
(iii) The Western Regional Committee with
its office at Bombay;
(iv) The Eastern Regional Committee
with its office at Calcutta.
(2) The Council may, if it
considers necessary, establish such other Regional Committees as it
may think fit.
(3) The Regional Committee shall advise and
assist the Council to look into all aspects of planning, promoting
and regulating technical education within the region.
(4) The
region for which the Regional Committees may be established and the
constitution and functions of such Committees shall be prescribed by
regulations.
CHAPTER V
FINANCE, ACCOUNTS AND
AUDIT
15.Payment to
the Council.- The Central Government may, after due
appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, pay to the
Council in each financial year such sums may be considered necessary
for the performance of functions of the Council under this
Act.
16.Fund of the
Council.- (1) The Council shall have its own Fund: and all sums
which may, from time to time, be paid to it by the Central
Government and all the receipts of the Council (including any sum
which any State Government or any other authority or person may hand
over to the Council) shall be credited to the Fund and all payments
by the Council shall be made therefrom.
(2) All moneys
belonging to the Fund shall be deposited in such banks or invested
in such manner as may, subject to the approval of the Central
Government, be decided by the Council.
(3) The Council may
spend such sums as it thinks fit for performing its functions under
this Act, and such sums shall be treated as expenditure payable out
of the Fund of the Council.
17.Budget.- The Council
shall prepare, in such form and at such time each year as may be
prescribed a budget in respect of the financial year next ensuing
showing the estimated receipts and expenditure, and copies thereof
shall be forwarded to the Central Government.
18.Annual report.- The
Council shall prepare once every year, in such form and at such time
as may be prescribed, an annual report giving a true and full
account of its activities during the previous year and copies
thereof shall be forwarded to the Central Government and that
Government shall cause the same to be laid before both Houses of
Parliament.
19.Accounts and audit.- (1)
The Council shall cause to be maintained such books of account and
other books in relation to its accounts in such form and in such
manner as may, in consultation with the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India, be prescribed.
(2) The Council
shall, as soon as may be, after closing its annual accounts prepare
a statement of accounts in such form, and forward the same to the
Comptroller and Auditor-General of India by such date, as the
Central Government may, in consultation with the Comptroller and
Auditor-General, determine.
(3) The accounts of the Council
shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India at
such times and in such manner as he thinks fit.
(4) The
accounts of the Council as certified by the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India or any other person appointed by him in
this behalf together with the audit report thereon shall be
forwarded annually to the Central Government and that Government
shall cause the same to be laid before both Houses of
Parliament.
CHAPTER
VI
MISCELLANEOUS
20.Directions by the Central
Government.- (1) The Council shall, in the discharge of its
functions and duties under this Act, be bound by such directions on
questions of policy as the Central Government may give in writing to
it from time to time.
(2) The decision of the Central
Government as to whether a question is one of policy or not shall be
final.
21.Power to
supersede the Council.- (1) If the Central Government is of the
opinion that the Council is unable to perform, or has persistently
made default in the performance of, the duty imposed on its by or
under this Act or has exceeded or abused its powers, or has wilfully
or without sufficient cause., failed to comply with any direction
issued by the Central Government under section 20, the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, supersede
the Council for such period as may be specified in the
notification:
Provided that before issuing a notification
under this sub-section, the Central Government shall give a
reasonable time to the Council to show cause why it should not be
superseded and shall consider the explanation and objections, if
any, of the Council.
(2) Upon the publication of a
notification under sub-section (1) superseding the
Council.-
(a) all the members of the Council shall,
notwithstanding that their term of office had not expired, as from
the date of suppression, vacate their offices as such
members;
(b) all the powers and duties which may, by or under
the provisions of this Act, be exercised or performed by or on
behalf of the Council shall, during the period of suppression, be
exercised and performed by such person or persons as the Central
Government may direct;
(c) all property vested in the Council
shall, during the period of suppression, vest in the Central
Government.
(3) On the expiration of the period of
suppression specified in the notification issued under sub-section
(1), the Central Government may-
(a) extend the period of
suppression for such further period as it may consider necessary;
or
(b) reconstitute the Council in the manner provided in
section 3.
22.Power
to make rules.- (1) The Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of
this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or
any of the following matters, namely:-
(a) the procedure to
be followed by the members in the discharge of their
functions;
(b) the inspection of technical institutions and
Universities;
(c) the form and manner in which the budget and
reports are to be prepared by the Council.
(d) the manner in
which the accounts of the Council are to be maintained;
and
(e) any other matter which has to be, or may be,
prescribed.
23.Power
to make regulations.- (1) The Council may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, make regulations not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, and the rules generally to carry out the
purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations
may provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely:-
(a) regulating the meetings of the Council and the
procedure for conducting business thereat;
(b) the terms and
conditions of service of the officers and employees of the
Council;
(c) regulating the meetings of the Executive
Committee and the procedure for conducting business
thereat;
(d) the area of concern, the constitution, and
powers and functions of the Board of Studies;
(e) the region
for which the Regional Committee be established and the constitution
and functions of such Committee.
24.Rules and regulations to be
laid before Parliament.- Every rule and every regulation made
under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,
before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total
period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in
two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the
session immediately following the session or the successive sessions
aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule
or regulation or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation
should not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter have
effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case
may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall
be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done
under that rule or regulation.
25.Power to remove
difficulties.- (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to
the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order,
published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to be
necessary for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no order
shall be made under this section after the expiry of two years from
the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this
section shall be laid., as soon as may be after it is made, before
each House of Parliament.