New Delhi, Apr 29 - Close to 150 technical institutes across the country have applied to AICTE seeking permission to shut shop because of poor response to their management and engineering programmes, the government has said.

According to All India Council of Technical Education, they have received applications from as many as 143 institutes from 14 states to close down their programmes, a phenomenon which could largely be attributed to mushrooming of technical institutes across the country.

The council, for example, as received applications from 56 institutes from Andhra Pradesh for closure, while two institutes from Tamil Nadu and five from Karnataka have applied for closing down their professional courses.

These three states, according to statistics, are considered a sought-after destination for students seeking admission to technical programmes.

"The request for closure of programmes is a pointer towards a factor where supply of seats in technical programme far outnumbers the demands and also to the fact that institutes need to deliver quality or perish," HRD Ministry officials said.

Recent data suggest there are over 3,500 management schools and over 4,000 engineering colleges in the country.

According to AICTE, they have also received applications from five institutes in Madhya Pradesh, four from Chhattisgarh, two from West Bengal and one from Bihar for closure of their programmes.

The Council has received 18 applications from Rajasthan, 17 from Uttar Pradesh and 13 from Gujarat, reflecting the fact that these big states have also had their share of troubles in running these courses.

AICTE also said they received six applications each from Haryana and Punjab. The Council will first scrutinise their applications to see if there is any discrepancy before approving their decision to close down.

Last week in a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for HRD D Purandeswari said these institutes were not provided land at concessional rates. She said AICTE has not asked for reasons for closure of these institutes, "however this may be due to poor admission in these institutes".

AICTE is of the view that poor interaction between such institutes and the industry and teaching standards have also led these institutes to this state. PTI