Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP)

The Ministry of Human Resource Development launched in December, 2002 the “Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme of Government of India (TEQIP)” which aims to upscale and support ongoing efforts in improving quality of technical education and enhancing existing capacities of the institutions to become dynamic, demand-driven, quality conscious, efficient and forward looking, responsive to rapid economic and technological developments occurring both at national and international levels. The Programme was conceived and designed as a long term project to be implemented in 10-12 years in 3 phases to support excellence and transformation in Technical Education in the country.

TEQIP PHASE - I

TEQIP Phase I was implemented with the assistance of World Bank as a Centrally co-ordinated Central and State Sector Project within a total cost of Rs. 1389 crore. Out of this Rs. 306 crore was Central Component and the remaining Rs. 1033 crore was State Component. The program became effective in March, 2003 and closed on 31st March, 2009. 127 Institutions participated in TEQIP, out of which 18 were Centrally Funded Institutions and 109 were State Institutions. The State Institutions were from the 13 States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The 18 Central institutions include 17 NITs and NIFFT, Ranchi. The 109 State Institutions include 90 Engineering Colleges and 19 Polytechnics. The cumulative expenditure for TEQIP Phase I was Rs. 132.80 crore which is 99% of the total Project allocation.

TEQIP PHASE- II

Based on the achievements made during TEQIP Phase-I, TEQIP Phase-II is to be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) with the assistance of the World Bank at a total cost of Rs. 2430 crore. The Central contribution will be Rs. 1895.50 crore, out of which Rs. 1395.50 will be reimbursed by the World Bank. The State share will be Rs. 518.50 crore and the Share of Private unaided institutions will be Rs. 16 crore. The funding pattern will be 75:25 between the Centre and the participating States and for North Eastern States it will be 90:10. The TEQIP-II project is for the duration of 4 years covering about 200 institutions based on competitive funding. The Programme will be implemented from 2010-11.

Technician Education Project-III

After the successful completion of Technician Education I & Technician Education II projects launched in the Country with the assistance of World Bank, for upgradation of Polytechnics in the country. The Government had launched another project called "Technician Education III" with the assistance of World Bank and the project was directed towards developing Polytechnics in the States/Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The Project aimed at capacity expansion, Quality Enhancement and Efficiency Improvement. The Project became effective in January 2001 and ended in June 2007.

The Project covered 21 polytechnics including establishment of 9 new Polytechnics at one each at Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland & Tripura and two each at Meghalaya and Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir. The 12 existing Polytechnics were from Andaman & Nicobar (2) Jammu & Kashmir (4), Meghalaya (1), Mizoram (2), Nagaland (2) and Tripura(1). All the Project objectives were achieved in terms of establishing new polytechnics, new programmes, enhancing enrolment including women and disadvantaged groups. The existing laboratories & workshops were modernized and new workshops and laboratories were established. Computer Centres were established in all the Polytechnics with the provision of Internet facilities. Encouragement was given for Internal Revenue Generation, Faculty and staff development and recruitment during the implementation of the Project. In spite of difficulties in location most of the institutes obtained ISO 9001-2000 Certification. Technical Vocational Education & Training (TVE&T) Programmes conducted in the Polytechnics by using existing resources provided training and skills to the unorganized sector.

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) was established in 1959 as the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering with the objective of meeting the advanced technical education need of SEATO Member States. In 1967, SEATO relinquished its control and the institute was renamed Asian Institute of Technology and became an autonomous institute with the management being entrusted to an International Board of Trustees. At present India ’s Ambassador in Bangkok, is a member of the Board of Trustees of AIT, Bangkok .

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok is an autonomous international post graduate institute providing advanced education in engineering, science and allied fields. The AIT Academic year has two terms beginning January and August. The Government of India provides support to the AIT by way of secondment of Indian Faculty for a period of 16 weeks in selected areas of specialization and reimburses Rs. 33.00 lakhs to the seconded faculty every year. In addition, the Government of India also provides funds to AIT  to the tune of 3.0 lakhs for purchase of Indian equipment, books and journals every year. For details click here (www.ait.ac.th)

Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC), Manila

	The Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC), Manila is a specialized agency of the Colombo Plan. It was established on December 5, 1973 at the 23rd Consultative Committee Meeting of the Colombo Plan held in Wellington, New Zealand, to assist the member Countries of the Colombo Plan in developing and enhancing their technician education systems. It became operational in 1974 with the Republic of Singapore serving as the first host Government for twelve years. In 1986, CPSC moved to Manila, Philippines.
	The Colombo Plan Staff College is a unique organization, being the only regional institution addressing issues related to quality improvement in technician education and training in the Asia - Pacific region. The objective of the staff college is to improve the quality of technician education and training in the Colombo Plan region by meeting the need for technician teacher educators and trainers and senior staff in technician education who can play a more active part in in-service training and staff development programmes.
	Besides the Regional programmes, Collaborative Regional Programmes and In-country programmes are also conducted by CPSC, Manila. For details click here (www.cpsctech.org)