AICTE asks HEIs to participate in Graduate Income Index

Hyderabad: After decades of waiting now the students of engineering colleges have got a legitimate channel to express the emoluments that they have been getting after the campus recruitments. It may be mentioned here that currently, the higher education engineering institutions alone are the ones who have been claiming that their students are placed in various companies and industries with higher salary packages.

However, there are several complaints of colleges making up and fudging salary packages and submitting the same while submitting self-assessment reports in a bid to get approvals from the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), and National Academic Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditations.

Speaking to The Hans India, official sources from the State Higher Education Department (SHED) and Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU-H) said there are several complaints received both from the students and faculty a little over past two years since COVID outbreak against the colleges.

Earlier, the AICTE had slapped a circular that it would be taking serious note of false documents being submitted to it and warned of stringent action against the erring institutions. Now, the AICTE is coming up with an online survey to come up with Graduate Income Index (GII). The new initiative is meant to factor in the engineering graduate's remuneration, perception and aspirational aspects.

The survey comprising about 30 questions was classified into three sections and the apex technical education regulator opened it for the alumni of the technical higher educational institutions to give their version. The three component includes general and perceptual benefits, remuneration and aspirational benefits.

The AICTE feels that the direct responses of augmenting data from the alumni employed in various industries would help it to "understand the potential outcome on Graduate Income of alumni currently working in various sectors." Besides, it will also provide feedback on existing education delivery mechanisms on which the alumni can express their views freely and frankly.

In 10 minutes of taking the survey the detail of the alumni and their views expressed are protected under the Indian data protection guidelines. The personal information will be kept confidential and the details provided by them and the key findings will be used only for further analysis for reporting purposes.

According to the AICTE, the initiative had come from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) to assess the Graduate Income index from one year graduate. The survey requests respondents who have completed their professional journey in any organisation post-completion of at least one year in any four-year under-graduation program. The AICTE requested to take up a similar GII for technical graduates.

Following this, the apex technical regulator has asked higher educational institutions like universities and colleges to maintain an alumni database and keep in touch with them through alumni associations and forums to share the survey template with those who have completed one year after their undergraduate program and currently working in any organization. They can submit an online surveyat https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1FAIpQLSfKLZRxNNjraaQ0-mr1lQtnZzJo6a_qgepBlDLgArJqwjfPOA/viewform.