Fake News Alert: AICTE has not issued any Circular scrapping the 75% Attendance rule for Engineering
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 22, 2018
A circular in the name of AICTE has been widely shared on social media in the last few days. The circular talks about scrapping the 75% attendance rule for the engineering course. AICTE has clarified that it’s a fake circular.
In the last few days, a circular in the name of an advisor to AICTE has been shared widely across social media. The crux of the circular is that the AICTE has scrapped the 75% attendance rule in all B.E/B.Tech courses and is introducing vocational projects instead of mandatory attendance. The circular is addressed to all the directors & principals of AICTE approved institutions. The circular mentions the following.
The alleged circular then goes onto ask institutes to make relevant provisions and that detailed documents would be made available later both on the MHRD website as well as the AICTE website.
AICTE says the Circular is ‘FAKE’
The AICTE distanced itself from the circular and  called it fake . In a  communication uploaded  on the AICTE website, AICTE said that the circular is misleading & mischievous. The communication asked that the circular  be ignored. It also said that a police complaint is being lodged with the cybercrime cell of the Delhi Police.
The circular is FAKE for multiple reasons
A careful reading of the circular would reveal that it is fake for multiple reasons.
There is no advisor by that name: The circular was signed by one Prof. G K Gokhale, an advisor in the Policy & Academic Planning Bureau of AICTE. The  AICTE website does not list  anyone by that name as an advisor in the bureau.
The 75% attendance rule is not uniform across: Universities that award B.E/B.Tech degrees and affiliate colleges in various states have different attendance rules.  Below are the details of attendance rules in some of the universities.
Attendance rules won’t change in the middle of an academic year: Even if AICTE were to modify the attendance rules, they won’t do it in the middle of an academic year. They would do it with effect from a fresh academic year.
There is no such NSSO report in the public domain: There is no such employability report  in the  public domain  where the survey was undertaken by the NSSO & AICTE.
All those concerned should ignore the circular.