New Delhi: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, is likely to come up with a Grievance Redressal Cell, from next academic year i.e. 2013. As a result from next year onwards, students seeking admissions to courses in universities and affiliated colleges or technical and management institutes will have a grievance redressal body.
As per sources, the Council will soon issue a notification directing all professional and technical institutes across the country to constitute an ombudsman for grievance redressal. Explaining about the same, SS Mantha, AICTE chairman, said that every institute will need to appoint an ombudsman with legal experience.
He later clarified that if there is a lack of eligible people, then one ombudsman can be appointed for a cluster of colleges. For example, colleges in a particular area can be considered as one cluster. The body will look into students' harassment, admission and capitation fee issues.
Sources further informed that each cluster ombudsman will have three experts, including a retired high court judge, an eminent social personality from the education sector and academician.
Mantha also said that during admissions, a student does not belong to any institute as he / she has passed out from school or junior college and is yet to enroll in a degree college. The ombudsman or the grievance redressal body will help the students if they face any trouble during the process.
The ministry of human resources and development initiative will also be implemented by the University Grants Commission in all universities and affiliated colleges. The ombudsman will hear grievances like non-refund of fees on cancellation of admissions, discrimination, non-compliance of rules and withholding of documents.
