Varsities can fix additional rules for colleges seeking affiliation, rules SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that universities are not bound only by the All India Council for Technical Education norms and that they can specify additional conditions for colleges seeking their affiliation. Authoring the verdict on behalf of the bench, justice V Ramasubramanian added: “Ultimately, it is the universities which are obliged to issue degrees and whose reputation is inextricably intertwined with the fate and performance of the students, that may have to face the music and hence their role cannot be belittled.” The judgment settled the law on the issues surrounding authority of universities with respect to the AICTE, after underscoring that even a body of Supreme Court judgments, starting from 1997, have failed in reflecting the correct position of law. While it is not open to the universities to dilute the norms and standards prescribed by AICTE, the bench held, it is always open to the universities to prescribe enhanced norms, such as pass percentage of outgoing students or employment potential of the proposed course for which the affiliation is being sought. The high court had also set aside the university’s resolution that permission for starting new courses in engineering shall be given to any college only after assessing additional conditions of employment potential, industry demand, pass percentage of graduating students, average intake of new students and requirement of at least one course having recognition by the National Board of Accreditation. “Unfortunately”, the bench said, the AICTE opposed the university in this case which was only making sure that colleges that demand affiliation for creating additional courses should have a pass percentage of at least 50% for the outgoing students and an average intake of more than 50% of the sanctioned intake in the preceding three years.