What is the difference between UGC, AICTE and autonomous colleges?

Suprem, The University Grants Commission (UGC) of India is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 under Ministry of Human Resource Development, and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher education. It provides recognition to universities in India, and disburses funds to such recognised universities and colleges. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. Established in November 1945 first as an advisory body and later on in 1987 given statutory status by an Act of Parliament, AICTE is responsible for proper planning and coordinated development of the technical education and management education system in India. The AICTE accredits postgraduate and graduate programs under specific categories at Indian institutions as per its charter. Autonomous Institution is affiliated to a Govt. University but does not follow its syllabus or curriculum. It has academic independence which gives it the freedom to revise the syllabus with time and follow a schedule which is more suitable for the set curriculum. Exams are conducted by the institute itself and are in accordance with what is being taught during the session. Relative grading system where the highest marks obtained by a student decides the marks the others get. So in case of a difficult paper, a low percentage score would not necessarily mean a low GPA. Degrees finally awarded by the affiliated University which generally carries a lot of reputation. Now the important thing is that if the autonomous institution is a university having UGC approval that it goes not need AICTE approval. The Supreme Court has ruled in the famous Bharathidasan University versus AICTE case that it is not obligatory for a university, created under an Act of a competent legislature, to seek and secure prior approval of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to start a department for imparting a course or programme in technical education or a technical institution as an adjunct to the university itself to conduct technical courses of its choice and selection.What it means is that the AICTE Act,1987 is applicable only to 'technical institutions' and universities are not ' technical institutions', excluding them from the purview of the AICTE Act.

1 Upvote 1 Upvote 0 Downvotes 2 Comments

• • Report Abuse
• Comment