Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP)

•  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for initiation of the Third Phase of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP).
• The Project will be implemented as a ‘Central Sector Scheme’ with total project outlay of Rs. 3600 crore.
• World Bank through International Development Association (IDA) will also provide monetary assistance to this programme.
• The project will be implemented with the facility of Direct Funds Transfer to the accounts of beneficiary institutes.
• The Focus States are 7 Low Income States (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh), 3 Hill States (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand), 8 North-Eastern States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

About the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP):

• National Project Implementation Unit (NPIU) was established by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, in August 1990 for coordination, facilitation, monitoring and to provide guidance to the States/ Institutions in all aspects of the projects.
• During 1991 to 2007, NPIU implemented three Technician Education Projects of Government of India assisted by World Bank, which helped to strengthen and upgrade the Technician Education System and benefited 552 polytechnics in 27 States including UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry.
• Success of three Technician Projects has encouraged the Govt. of India to seek similar financial assistance from World Bank for a systemic transformation of the technical education system as a whole with special focus on overall Quality Improvement in engineering education.
• World Bank took keen interest in systemic transformation of India’s technical education system to make it globally competitive plan and shown its willingness to assist the Government of India to launch a Technical Education Improvement Programme (TEQIP) as a long term programme of 10-12 years and in 3 phases.
• The first phase of TEQIP commenced in 2003 and ended on March 31st, 2009. It covered 127 institutes across 13 States including 18 Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs).
• TEQIP-II commenced in August 2010, covering 23 States/Union Territories (UTs) and 191 Institutes (including 26 CFTIs). TEQIP-II is scheduled to conclude in October, 2016.
• Subsequently, TEQIP was conceived in pursuance of the National Policy on Education 1986 (Revised 1992) with a goal to upscale and improve quality of technical education and enhance 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.

Benefits:

• Better academic standards, through accreditation, filling up faculty positions, training faculty in better teaching methods, improved research outputs in institution in Focus States/UTs.
• Better administration of the institutions with improved financial/academic autonomy.
• Better systems for assessment of Student Learning, higher transition rates.
• Transparent and expeditious release of funds to institutes by way of Direct Funds Transfer (DFT) System.

By: Vishal