In order to encourage the naturally gifted and highly talented students, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has announced supernumerary seats in all the AICTE recognised institutes across the country. The decision was taken to encourage innovative young minds to take pride in their achievements and pursue mainstream education. All the gifted and highly talented students can seek admission without any entrance exams or board exams in a reputed college under the supernumerary quota.
The AICTE further stated that students will be selected on the basis of the following eligibility criteria:
- They should have won international/national level prizes,Â
- They should have published original research papersÂ
- They should have won the hackathons
- They should be holding patentsÂ
- They should have a registered start-up (as per DPIIT norms)
- They should be owners of Apps on Google/Apple/Windows stores.Â
The naturally gifted and highly talented students will be chosen by the institutes based on the Statement of Purpose (SoP) and three letters of recommendation. After the verification of the documents, the candidates may have to appear for the interview in front of a panel of experts appointed by the institutions to gauge their eligibility for admission. The selected students will be entitled to a complete tuition fee waiver from the institution of choice.
Mr. Anil P Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE, welcomed the initiative and stated that this concept was prevalent from July 2021 and from this year we will try to implement the scheme across all the AICTE institutions. He further stated that the AICTE institutes will have full freedom to select the deserving candidates and steps are taken to prevent misuse of the provision, so that only promising talents can avail this opportunity.
Mr. Sahasrabudhe further adds that the provision helps such students to think out-of-the-box and become more innovative. The decision is taken under the National Education Policy (2020) with its emphasis on skilling, honing and encouraging creativity. This provision will help in identifying gifted students early and train them to become more innovative.Â
Mr.Sahasrabudhe further stated that there are about 3000 AICTE institutions across the country that have innovation centres to help meet this need. He further explains that such students will be in high demand across industries and would do well to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey.
Mr Abhay Bansal, Head, Amity School of Engineering & Technology, welcomed the decision and stated that, if this provision is acted upon with zeal and fair judgement then it would result in future leaders and holistic premiere institutes. He further pointed that, since the criteria of selection would be through standardised judgement of the innovative skills of the student through various parameters like national and international events, hackathon or journal publications, there is very less chances of any misuse of the provision. The continuous track on the credibility of such students by the AICTE makes this more trustworthy and secure.