MBA, MCA courses: SC rejects AICTE appeal

The Supreme Court has found no merit in an appeal by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) against a verdict that colleges affiliated to a university were not obliged to take separate permission from it for conducting MBA and MCA courses.

"We have considered the averments in the review petitions. Having regard to the facts and issues involved, in our opinion, no case for review is made out. There is no error in the impugned order. Hence, the review petitions are dismissed," said a Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and V Gopala Gowda as it dismissed the AICTE's review petition. 

In its April order, the Bench had ruled that MBA was not a technical course. Although MCA was a technical course, the court said, role of AICTE for its regulation could be advisory only. 

"The AICTE Act does not intend (the council) to be an authority either superior or to supervise or control universities and thereby superimpose itself upon them merely for the reason that it is laying down certain teaching standards in technical education or programmes formulated in any of the department of units," the court had noted. 

Writing the judgment, Justice Gowda had said: "The role of AICTE vis-à-vis universities is only advisory, recommendatory and one of providing guidance and (it) has no authority to issue or enforce any sanction by itself." 

The Bench said it was the University Grants Commission which had been given the power to regulate universities in relation to granting sanction/approval, maintaining educational standards and overseeing the fee structure including admissions to various courses offered by them, their institutions, constituent colleges, units and affiliated colleges. 

The AICTE however had decided to file a review petition against this order, claiming it had been trying to bring in transparency in matters of recognition of technical programmes, run by various colleges and institutes, over several years now and so they would not want this exercise to go in vain.

Source:::: The Indian Express, 26-07-2013