Ban on similar names for engg colleges

COIMBATORE: TO ensure that candidates are not misguided by names of engineering colleges, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to bar technical institutions in the same state from having similar names, even within the same group.

“Many registered trusts and societies have taken approval from the council for operating multiple technical institutions almost in the same name and style. This creates confusion among the general public. In order to alleviate the problem, the AICTE has decided to restrict the use of existing names of institutions within a state,” it said in a recent public notice.

However, there is no bar on colleges in different states having similar names. The restriction applies only to colleges within the same state.Technical institutions having similar names have been directed to apply online through the AICTE portal for changing the name, giving the existing and proposed names.
A few institutions run by the same group have similar names, agreed T D Eswaramoorthy, joint secretary of the Confederation of Self-financing Professional, Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu.

“There are also institutions run by different groups with similar sounding names. Even in the case of those in the same group with similar names, some may be autonomous and others may not be. They would be located in different places. It is to prevent any confusion because of similarity in names that the AICTE has taken this decision,” he added.