AFTER a twoyear ban on opening of new engineering institutes in view of the declining number of admissions in the course, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to lift the moratorium from this academic year. It will provide opportunity to educational institutes to open new engineering colleges from the 2023- 24 academic session provided they adhere to the policies proposed in the New Education Policy (NEP). The decision by the AICTE has come as a surprise to many as no big change has been recorded in the ground situation as regards to admissions in engineering colleges. By pausing opening of new colleges, the AICTE had, in fact, done a fantastic job to curb the mushrooming of engineering institutes which had clearly threaten quality education.The college-student ratio had become highly skewed as many institutes recorded zero to ten per cent of admissions for years together. The situation was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic which put a total halt on educational activities. What change in the situation prompted the AICTE to lift the moratorium is still unexplained but it would be wise if the agency adheres to needbased opening of engineering colleges rather than allowing a full flow.

 

 

 

I NDIAN captain Rohit Sharma has straightaway put the ball in franchises’ court by asking them to take a call on resting international players during this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In a way, Rohit Sharma has spelt out the impossible as the IPL team owners would be totally reluctant to leave the big-impact players from action. Rohit has himself cast doubt whether management of workload of top players would be happening in this IPL. Workload break has become a necessity for Team India players as most of them have been shortlisted for the ICC 50- over World Cup in October. Before that India would be playing the World Test Championship against Australia right after the IPL. The schedule makes it imperative for the India players to stay in the best of their health and shape. The team is already missing the services of Jasprit Bumrah for too long. The pacer is yet to recover from his injury even after a long break. Another key player on the injury list is Shreyas Iyer who had to pull out of the Australia series mid-way. The frequency of injury makes it totally necessary to use the India players quite judiciously during the IPL.The onus is totally on the team owners to take this tough call.