The Parshvanath College of Engineering was a private engineering college located in Kasarvadavali, Thane district of Maharashtra state in India. It was established in 1994, and was managed by the Parshvanath Charitable Trust. It was a Jain religious minority college (i.e., half of all seats are reserved for students from the Jain religious minority community). While it was functioning, it was affiliated to the University of Mumbai (a public university funded by the state government of Maharashtra), was accredited by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) of the Government of India, and was recognised by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) of the state government of Maharashtra.
It offered undergraduate education leading to the University of Mumbai's "Bachelor of Engineering" (B.E.) degree in any 1 of the following 6 disciplines: mechanical engineering, instrumentation engineering, computer engineering, information technology, civil engineering, and electronics and telecommunication engineering. The ordinary duration of these undergraduate courses is four years.
In December 2012, following the conclusion of a case against the AICTE in the Supreme Court of India, the college was closed down, and all students were transferred by the DTE to other engineering colleges of the University of Mumbai for the remainder of their courses.
History
The college was established in 1994 by the Parshvanath Charitable Trust, then managed by trustee Mr. Tekchand Shah. It offered instruction leading to the University of Mumbai's Bachelor of Engineering degree (four-year duration) in three disciplines: computer engineering, electronics and telecommunication engineering, and instrumentation engineering. The first batch of students graduated in 1998. New departments were subsequently started: mechanical engineering in 1996 (first batch graduating in 2000), information technology in 1999 (first batch graduating in 2003), and civil engineering in 2010 (first batch intended to graduate in 2014). All departments offered degrees of the University of Mumbai.
The college shifted from its original, 4-storied campus on the west side of Ghodbunder Road to the newer, 5-storied campus on the east side, in 2008. Till 2012, the old campus was used as a polytechnic (named "M.M.J. Shah Polytechnic"), offering engineering diplomas (in the same branches as the degree college) of three-year duration to students who had completed class 10 of the Indian school education system. The administrative and financial offices of both the degree college and the diploma polytechnic continued to be the same till 2010, housed in the old campus. In 2010, a transition was made, enabling each institution to have its separate office in its own campus. The diploma polytechnic was closed down in 2012.
The college had faced some issues in the past, as described separately in the "Issues" section of this article.
Campus and location
The college's original campus was a 4-storied building on the west side of Ghodbundar Road, in Kasarvadavali. The new 5- and 6-storied campus of the engineering college is on the east side of Ghodbunder Road. The campus is set up on land belonging to the Jethalal Lakhamsi Charitable Trust, which has given it on lease to the Parshvanath Charitable Trust.
From 2008 to 2012, the old campus housed a diploma polytechnic (named "M.M.J. Shah Polytechnic") that offered three-year engineering diplomas to students passing class 10.
In 2012, the adjoining "Veermata Hiraben P. Shah College of Pharmacy" (also managed by the Parshvanath Charitable Trust and affiliated to the University of Mumbai) was closed down. Its 6-storied building then became a part of the campus of the Parshvanath College of Engineering.
The campus was Wi-Fi enabled. Surveillance was carried out through CCTV cameras in the laboratories and classrooms. Initially, a centralised air-conditioning system for the whole building was planned. Even AC ducts were installed in the ceilings. But the system never became completely operational. Ultimately, ceiling fans had to be installed in all the rooms. Air-conditioning units were installed wherever they were needed (e.g. computer labs, seminar halls, etc.)
Located in Kasarvadavali Naka on Ghodbunder Road, nearby places of interest include the shopping complex having HyperCity Mall, BIG MegaMart, McDonald's fast food restaurant, etc. Nearby, there are also commercial buildings (e.g. that of G-Corp), as well as many existing and under-construction residential areas.
Various small local shops and restaurants also exist nearby.