By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
A Year-long Series on Education, Sponsored by The Aligarh Forum : – A Mirror on our Efforts, our Successes & our Shortcomings ; Stories of triumphs, tribulations and struggles of the Indian Muslims in improving their educational status, in illiteracy alleviation, and in their professional and social uplift.
Patna: The Week magazine had conducted a survey of engineering colleges in India and published the report in its 5th June 2011 issue. Maulana Azad College of Engineering and Technology (MACET), Patna was ranked among the top 20 engineering colleges of Eastern India.
Bihar has eight engineering colleges including two government-owned. But the only other college from Bihar to make to the top 20 list was National Institute of Technology, Patna. It is noteworthy here that NIT, Patna is a central institution while MACET is an unofficial minority institution with no backing from the government.
The high rank in a reputed survey of hundreds of engineering colleges of East India was a big achievement for the 23-year-old MACET which came into existence at the initiative of some noble souls who were led by Justice Syed Sarwar Ali. With the goal to push Muslim generation towards the fast developing world of technology, they set up Millat Educational Society which ultimately gave birth to MACET in 1988.
Over last two decades, the college has produced hundreds of engineers, most of them Muslims. MACET students have got placement in various MNCs such as WIPRO, TECHNOLOG 9 LABS, WEBLAUNCH TECH, APPIN, and INDO-MIM. Of late, some reputed companies have begun coming to the campus to select young engineers. “Over the years, companies have started taking interest in the institution. They come here for campus selection,” says Dr. Vakkar Ali, Director, MACET. For this, he appreciates the contribution of PRO of the college, Mr. Sabih Akhtar.
Today the college stands at a sprawling campus near Neora on the outskirts of Patna. It runs five courses under 4-year B.Tech. degree course.
B.Tech. Courses—————————————Annual Intake
Electronics & Communications Engineering————–90 Seats
Mechanical Engineering————————————–90 Seats
Computer Science & Engineering—————————60 Seats
Electrical & Electronics Engineering———————–60 Seats
Civil Engineering———————————————-60 Seats
Admission
The admission in the different courses offered by MACET is through the internal Common Entrance Test. Out of total seats fifty percent seats are filled by internal test while remaining fifty percent seats are filled by B.C.C.E Examination conducted by the Government of Bihar. If Government quota is not filled then it is filled by the college.
Minority Status
MACET today is not an officially declared minority institution, says Dr Vakkar Ali. But he admits there is 70:30 ratio of Muslim and other students.
“Partially you can say it is a minority institution, but it is not a full-fledged declared minority institution. There is no official reservation for Muslim students. We get 50% seats from Bihar combined exam and 50% filled by Management quota. However, the community wise ratio is 70:30 (Muslims and others),” says Dr. Ali who has joined the college only in December 2011. Before that, he was engineering faculty at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
However, he informs that the college is trying for full recognition as a minority institution. “We are applying for full minority status,” Dr. Ali informs.
Recognition
Maulana Azad College of Engineering and Technology is recognized by AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education – the federal body that governs technical education in the country), and it is affiliated with Magadh University, Gaya (Bihar).
Problems
Like any Muslim institution, MACET has a typical problem: Discipline. “Discipline is a big problem. I have been continuously trying to improve discipline and academic atmosphere of the college,” says Dr. Ali. And this was evident. When this scribe was talking to Dr. Ali in his chamber, peon came in and said some students are outside and want to talk to him (the director) regarding some practical classes.
Dr. Ali admitted that practical classes are big problem. “There are many problems regarding practical classes. Theory classes are going well, but practical classes are not,” he said.
Future Plan
Dr. Vakkar Ali has set a future plan for the college. Presently it runs only B.Tech. course. He is planning to introduce M.Tech. and MBA courses. Besides, he is also planning to start a feeder school for the college.
Link:
http://www.macet.net.in/
http://twocircles.net/Special%20Reports/education.html