New Delhi: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has laid down specific norms and policies for granting autonomy to polytechnic colleges.These criteria are crucial for the existence and autonomy of any polytechnic institution.MINIMUM 10 YEARS OF EXISTENCE AND ACCREDITATIONTo qualify, the institute must have a minimum of 10 years of existence and hold NIIA accreditation for at least 30% of eligible programmes.The accreditation should be valid for an additional year from the application submission date.If this criterion is not met, the institution should have been in existence for a minimum of 25 years.FACULTY COMPOSITION AND EXPERIENCEApproximately 50% of faculty members, as per AICTE-approved patterns, should work on a regular basis.Moreover, at least 60% of faculty should possess more than 5 years of experience, with 50% retaining their positions over the last 3 years.ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND ADMISSION STATUSThe institution's results should be consistently at 60% or above in all semesters over the last three academic years.Additionally, the admission status must be a minimum of 80% in the previous three academic years.INFRASTRUCTURE ADEQUACYThe institution must meet AICTE infrastructure norms with no deficiency report while granting Extension of Approval (EOA) for the current academic year.FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AND STUDENT PLACEMENTMore than 50% of faculty members should have undergone at least one course in MOOCs or SWAYAM/FDP (Minimum 2 weeks)/ Industrial Training (Minimum 3 weeks) in the current/previous academic year.Around 75% of students, in alignment with final year pass-outs, should have secured placement or opted for entrepreneurship/higher studies during the previous three academic years.These guidelines emphasise the importance of experience, academic performance, and infrastructure to ensure autonomy for polytechnic colleges.
------India Today