Learners selected on the basis of the following eligibility criteria – in which they could either win international/national level awards, publish original research papers, winners of hackathons, patent holders, registered startups (as per DPIIT norms) or even Who also owns apps on the Google/Apple/Windows Store etc—will be chosen by institutions based on a statement of purpose and three letters of recommendation. After scrutiny of documents, candidates may have to appear for an interview in front of a panel of experts appointed by the institutes to assess their eligibility for admission.
Selected students will be entitled to full tuition fee waiver from the institute of their choice, which can charge examination fee, hostel, library, transport and laboratory fees.
score unimportant
Talking about the scheme, Anil P Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, AICTE says, “The concept was prevalent from July 2021, but this year, we are trying to implement the scheme in all AICTE institutions. While they will have complete freedom to select deserving candidates, AICTE will protect against possible misuse of the provision, and ensure that promising talent fits the bill. The selection criteria would not lay undue emphasis on marks as the students could have cleared class XII with only 35% in aggregate.
catch them young
The scheme, says Sahasrabuddhe, is a welcome departure from the rote culture that forces students to score marks and chase national and state-level entrance exams. “This leaves little time for them to think out-of-the-box. The current initiative, drawn from the National Policy on Education (2020), with emphasis on stimulating skill, honing and creativity, will help in early identification of talented students. While earning their degree, students will be engaged in the incubators and innovation cells of their institutions, which can help enhance their innate potential. There are over 3000 AICTE institutions that have innovation centers to help meet this need,” says Sahasrabuddhe. He points out that such students would be in high demand in industries but would be good to start their entrepreneurial journey.
set guidelines
Abhay Bansal, Head, Amity School of Engineering and Technology says, “AICTE provision, if acted with enthusiasm and fair judgment, will result in future leaders and overall premier institutions, pointing to the fact that the norms It will be through standardized decision making of innovative skills of the student through national and international events, hackathons or journal publications that follow the guidelines already laid down, the chances of any misuse of the provision will be less.” Further, AICTE selected reserves the right to keep track of the credibility of the candidates which makes it more trustworthy and secure,” he says.
tracking talent
KNB Murthy, Vice Chancellor of Dayanand Sagar University (DSU), Bengaluru feels that the concept of AICTE’s initiative is promising, but identifying such students can be a challenge. “If so many students qualify as per the same eligibility criteria, how come institutes become zero in just two. What criteria should be used to measure talent and compare one student with another. ,
“Institutions need a special track for these students, apart from faculty advisors who can guide and challenge their approach to ideas. Murthy said that instead of restricting the students to regular classes, efforts should also be made to provide credit based projects.