The Gazetteers Department

All technical and industrial schools and institutes and courses leading upto diploma standard excluding those coming under the jurisdiction of the university are controlled by the Department of Technical Education.

The Committee of Direction for Technical Education was constituted by the Government of Bombay in 1913 and the control of technical and industrial education in the Province was vested in it. With a view to extending technical education, the Government of Bombay appointed another committee which recommended the establishment of part-time courses for apprentices and the formation of Joint Directorate of Technical Education. In the year 1948, the then Government of Bombay set up the Department of Technical Education in the State and technical education was entrusted to it. This department until 1963 was conducting examinations for diploma and certificate courses offered by the polytechnics and some of the technical institutions in the State. A separate Board of Technical Examinations, was, however, constituted in 1963 to take over this responsibility. Apart from the above, the Department also looks after the training schemes such as, craftsmen training scheme, apprenticeship training schemes and evening classes for industrial workers.

The Department is headed by the Director of Technical Education, Maharashtra State, who is stationed at Bombay while the Deputy Director of Technical Education, Nagpur, looks after the activities of the department in the Vidarbha region which includes the Akola district.

The department provides facilities for Degree courses, Diploma courses and Certificate courses. The certificate courses include draftsmanship, wood cutting, handloom, etc., which are also conducted by various Government and non-Government institutions. Polytechnics generally cater to courses of three years duration leading to a diploma in engineering or technology. The other institutions providing technical education are technical high schools and training institutes. The technical high schools are secondary schools with technical bias aimed at training the students not for entering into wage-earning occupations but to giving them a broad-based training in basic engineering workshop courses without neglecting the academic subjects. On the other hand, the aim of industrial training institutes is to equip the trainees as skilled artisans for suitable industrial employment. The trainees in these institutes admitted to the trades of one/two years duration can after their training join industry as semiskilled workers or go in for apprenticeship training in the designated trades. These training institutes provide courses of technical nature such as blacksmith, carpenter, fitter, electrician, turner, moulder, etc., and of vocational types as hosiery, printing, tailoring etc.

In 1966-67, there were as many as seven technical institutions imparting instructions in various types of education, of which three were craft and needle craft institutions. As regards the intake capacity in selected trades in industrial training institutions in the district during the same period the number stood at 306, of which 96 were for fitters' course.

In 1958, one industrial training institute was set up at Akola to cater to the needs of technical education in the district. At present the institute provides courses to train persons as electrician, draftsman (civil), welder, mechanic (diesel), wireman and fitter. The sanctioned intake capacity is 96. The Government multipurpose high school, established in 1959, is now working under the control of the Zilla Parishad, Akola. This high school aims at providing instructions and training in the usual group 01 academic and technical subjects. The duration of the courses is three years and certificates are. awarded to the successful candidates. The examinations are conducted by the S. S. C. Examination Board, Nagpur. The vocational high school, Akola, was established by the former Government of Madhya Pradesh. The aim of this school is to provide the students from rural areas with such type of training which would be useful to them for choosing occupations in industry. Students are trained for particular vocations and side by side they are taught languages, mathematics, science, and any one of trades such as carpentry, leather work, tailoring, etc. The basic training and related instruction centre functioning at Akola provides instruction regarding basic principles behind the working system of tools and machinery. The sanctioned intake capacity of this centre during 1967-68 was 125, of which 50 was for basic training and 75 for related instruction centre. The three craft and needle craft institutions run by private bodies during 1967-68 were all located at Akola, the intake capacity of which was 20 each.

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