Introduction
The world “engineering” derived from the Latin word “ingeniare” means “to design” or “to create”. Although the New Oxford Dictionary of English (1999) defines “engineering” as “the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines and structures” and “technology” as the “application of scientific knowledge for practical purpose, especially in industry”, to-day it is no longer possible to draw any such dividing line. This perhaps has prompted the use of the nomenclatures Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and Master of Technology (M.Tech) along with the traditional ones, namely, Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) and Master of Engineering (M.E). The names of colleges and institutions also include such terms as “engineering” “technology” and “engineering and technology”. Whatever may be the nomenclature of the awards or the names of institutions, they encompass both “engineering” and “technology”.
Engineering education in India has a long tradition, the beginning of which goes back to the year 1847. In that year was establishes the Thomason College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee, later to become the Roorkee University (1949), the first engineering university in the country. This was followed by the establishment of the College of Engineering in Pune in 1854 which is still in existence. The Civil Engineering College in Howrah came up in 1856 to impart training to the engineering personnel of the PWD. The first degree examination in civil engineering was held in 1864. In 1921, it was renamed the Bengal engineering College, which was accorded the deemed university status in 1992. In Mumbai, Victoria jubilee Technological Institute (now Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute) was set up in 1887.
Another landmark in the history of engineering education was the establishment of the National Council of Education (Calcutta) in 1908 in the wake of nationalist movement of 1905-06. It established the nucleus of an institution for imparting education in engineering and technology which in 1919, developed into the College of Engineering and Technology. The College, through a State Act, became the jadavpur University in 1955, a unitary university now consisting of Faculties of Arts, Science, and Engineering and Technology.
In 1909 was established the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore which owes its existence to the vision and munificence of the late J.N.Tata. It offers only postgraduate and research programmes. In 1958, it was accorded the deemed university status. Besides engineering colleges, separate colleges of technology, such as, College of Textile Technology, Serampore, West Bengal (1908), Government Central Textile Institute, Kanpur (1914), Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur (1921) University Department of Chemical Technology, University of Bombay (1934) which now enjoys autonomous status, and Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (1942) were also established in the pre-independent days.
It was only after Independence that engineering and technological education got a great boost. The development of technical education has been one of the major achievements of the post-Independence period. The creation of the All-India Council of Technical Education in 1945, and the Report of the Scientific Manpower Committee (1947) has a far reaching influence in this development. The reports of the Engineering Personnel Committee (1956), and the Committee for Postgraduate Engineering Education and Research (1961) gave an impetus to higher level technical education.
The growth of educational facilities has been phenomenal during the last decade. The outturn of graduates in engineering doubled within a span of 10 years from about 30,000 in 1987 to 60,000 in 1996. During the same period, the outturn of polytechnic diploma holders increased from 56,560 to 95,283. A comprehensive account of the progress of technical education since Independence is available in the book Technical Education in Independent India (1947-1997) published by the All India Council of Technical Education in 1999.
The world “engineering” derived from the Latin word “ingeniare” means “to design” or “to create”. Although the New Oxford Dictionary of English (1999) defines “engineering” as “the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines and structures” and “technology” as the “application of scientific knowledge for practical purpose, especially in industry”, to-day it is no longer possible to draw any such dividing line. This perhaps has prompted the use of the nomenclatures Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and Master of Technology (M.Tech) along with the traditional ones, namely, Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) and Master of Engineering (M.E). The names of colleges and institutions also include such terms as “engineering” “technology” and “engineering and technology”. Whatever may be the nomenclature of the awards or the names of institutions, they encompass both “engineering” and “technology”.
Engineering education in India has a long tradition, the beginning of which goes back to the year 1847. In that year was establishes the Thomason College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee, later to become the Roorkee University (1949), the first engineering university in the country. This was followed by the establishment of the College of Engineering in Pune in 1854 which is still in existence. The Civil Engineering College in Howrah came up in 1856 to impart training to the engineering personnel of the PWD. The first degree examination in civil engineering was held in 1864. In 1921, it was renamed the Bengal engineering College, which was accorded the deemed university status in 1992. In Mumbai, Victoria jubilee Technological Institute (now Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute) was set up in 1887.
Another landmark in the history of engineering education was the establishment of the National Council of Education (Calcutta) in 1908 in the wake of nationalist movement of 1905-06. It established the nucleus of an institution for imparting education in engineering and technology which in 1919, developed into the College of Engineering and Technology. The College, through a State Act, became the jadavpur University in 1955, a unitary university now consisting of Faculties of Arts, Science, and Engineering and Technology.
In 1909 was established the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore which owes its existence to the vision and munificence of the late J.N.Tata. It offers only postgraduate and research programmes. In 1958, it was accorded the deemed university status. Besides engineering colleges, separate colleges of technology, such as, College of Textile Technology, Serampore, West Bengal (1908), Government Central Textile Institute, Kanpur (1914), Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur (1921) University Department of Chemical Technology, University of Bombay (1934) which now enjoys autonomous status, and Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (1942) were also established in the pre-independent days.
It was only after Independence that engineering and technological education got a great boost. The development of technical education has been one of the major achievements of the post-Independence period. The creation of the All-India Council of Technical Education in 1945, and the Report of the Scientific Manpower Committee (1947) has a far reaching influence in this development. The reports of the Engineering Personnel Committee (1956), and the Committee for Postgraduate Engineering Education and Research (1961) gave an impetus to higher level technical education.
The growth of educational facilities has been phenomenal during the last decade. The outturn of graduates in engineering doubled within a span of 10 years from about 30,000 in 1987 to 60,000 in 1996. During the same period, the outturn of polytechnic diploma holders increased from 56,560 to 95,283. A comprehensive account of the progress of technical education since Independence is available in the book Technical Education in Independent India (1947-1997) published by the All India Council of Technical Education in 1999.
