CHENNAI: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced the inclusion of professors from Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) – such as IITs, NITs, and IISc – in the Expert Visit Committee (EVC) responsible for inspecting infrastructure and facilities at engineering colleges.
In an addendum outlining changes to the 2025-2026 approval process handbook, AICTE stated that all scrutiny, re-scrutiny, and EVC inspections would now be conducted in both online and hybrid modes. The revised guidelines mandate that the committee consist of four experts, including a chairman who must be an eminent educationist or academician, not below the level of a university vice-chancellor or an IIT professor, either active or retired.
The updated rules specify that two experts will be based at AICTE headquarters, while the remaining two, including a professor from an IoE, will visit the institution. For larger institutions, the number of experts and their selection will be determined by the chairman or an authorized council representative.
Previously, all scrutiny and EVC inspections were conducted online, with offline inspections reserved for exceptional cases, such as court directives. Earlier regulations required the EVC academician to be at least at the professor level in technical education and chosen from a panel approved by AICTE’s executive committee. Additionally, another committee member, either an associate professor or an industry expert with five years of experience, was also selected from an approved panel.
The move to involve IoE professors in the committee has been welcomed by many engineering colleges, who see it as a step towards more rigorous quality inspections. A faculty member from a private engineering college noted, “The earlier system relied solely on online scrutiny. The shift to hybrid inspections will allow for more effective monitoring of institutions.”
