New Delhi: In major relief to States like Kerala, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has revised the academic calendar for engineering colleges by extending the deadline for the completion of the first-year B Tech admissions for another month.
As per the new calendar released by the AICTE, the first-year B Tech classes will begin only on November 30.
The AICTE instructed the engineering colleges to hold awareness classes for students from November 15 itself. The deadline fixed for the cancellation of admission and the payment of full refund of fees is November 25.
The lateral entry to the second year BTech courses will be allowed till October 30 as per the new academic calendar.
Earlier, the AICTE's deadline for starting first-year classes was October 25. The decision came as a blessing in disguise for the Kerala Government, which had earlier extended the admission process in the engineering colleges by a month.
Meanwhile, AICTE Member Secretary Rajive Kumar has said that the colleges, which have already finished the admission processes, can start classes as per the old academic calendar. There is no bar for such colleges to fill up vacant seats.
The AICTE decided to revise the academic calendar after many State Governments approached the regulatory body with the request for allotting more time to complete the admission process in the engineering colleges in view of the overall delay caused due to COVID-19 crisis.