Students can now change the stream for their engineering course while pursuing the first course. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has offered flexibility to all students to take BTech as an additional degree through lateral entry. Students already enrolled in a course can switch it to any other discipline of their choice.

If a student changes their stream under the provision, they will be exempted from pursuing courses already done in the first discipline of BTech. For the new course, AICTE has asked colleges to offer appropriate guidance to the student. “As there is a practical component involved, students will be required to take admission in an institution/college as a regular student and the concerned university will ensure this and make necessary provision in their statutes accordingly.” Students will have to complete the course in two to three years compromising on the credit requirements in core discipline.

“AICTE is receiving requests from students regarding admission in BTech as an additional degree through lateral entry than the one already acquired,” the council said in an official notice.

In this regard, it is informed that the proposal was placed before the AICTE executive committee in its l44th meeting held on 13.O7.2021 and EC opined that technical universities can facilitate such students to take admission to BTech or BE by allowing them to get admission at the appropriate level of BTech programme in another discipline or branch of Engineering.

From this year onwards, 14 colleges across India are offering Engineering degrees in regional languages. The provision would also help students already studying in English to change their medium if they wish to. The AICTE is translating courses and creating online and offline content in 11 different languages.

These are part of suggestions of the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. PM Modi had recently launched the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) – a virtual entity which will keep records of all the students in the Indian higher education space and allows easy switch between colleges, rejoin education after the gap.

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