New Delhi: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has now in a major incentive to the teaching faculty has paved way for the faculty members teaching at the AICTE-approved institutions to improve their prospects of promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) by opting for some certified online courses.

The nodal technical education body in a recent notice to the technical educations have told them that the AICTE and the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure the teachers can avail the facilities of online Faculty Development Programme (FDP) which could later be used as valid certificate courses to be evaluated for promotions under the CAS.

In a notice to the institutions, the AICTE signed by its adviser Dileep N Malkhende, the office said, “NPTEL and AICTE have signed an MoU whereby advanced certification courses of NPTEL are recognized as FDP by the AICTE. Every semester the list of courses eligible for FDP shall be made available by NPTEL’s Academic Council and published NPTEL’s website. Faculty members of institutions, appointed as per the AICTE Regulations for full time teaching and other academic activities can be benefited for these FDPs.”

AICTE has also proceeded to notify a Regulation, “All India Council for Technical Education Regulations, 2018 [Career Advancement Scheme] [Degree/Diploma]” and has given this step a statutory backing. By this Regulation, it has also modified the existing and old Regulations to lay down equivalence of the online courses to faculty development program, shall be considered for faculty promotions under CAS.’

NPTEL offers online basic and advanced level courses of different durations. AICTE has also ensured quality check and monitoring by laying down detailed procedure. Interested faculty will have to first register with NPTEL and then opt for their choice of course. There will be regular assignment and in-person examination at the end. Faculty members undertaking and completing such advanced courses sucessfully are only issued joint certification from NPTEL and the AICTE.

The 2018 AICTE Regulations claim that as the Massive Open Online Courses of NPTEL are not full time programmes like regular FDPs their equivalence to regular FDPs are calculated based on the number of weeks and hours of attending the courses. The regulations claim that a four-week NPTEL course of three lectures per week consisting of 12 hours of engagement is equivalent to ½ FDP of one week whole the double amount will ensure full FDP of one week. Similarly if one attends 12 weeks of NPTEL course with 36 hours of engagement, he/she will earn equivalence of 1. 5 FDPs.

EduLegaL View:

Incentivising a teacher is like, giving incentive to the backbone of this country. Moreso, when other regulator has gone with laying down norms for online courses for students and awarding certificates and degrees, there was no reason, for teachers not be awarded this benefit.

This will also help teachers devote more time at campus and with the students and eventually boost the teaching quality and standards.

Ravi Bhardwaj | ravibhardwaj@gmail.com | mail@edulegal.in | www.edulegal.org

|EduLegaL View:

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has now in a major incentive to the teaching faculty has paved way for the faculty members teaching at the AICTE-approved institutions to improve their prospects of promotion under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) by opting for some certified online courses.