The Department of Technical Education (DTE) is a higher education governance body under the government of Kerala, India. It is a part of the higher education department and is managed by the Minister of Education. The department advises the government on matters dealing with higher education. It manages the working and activities 9 government engineering colleges, 3 aided engineering colleges, 49 polytechnic colleges, three colleges of fine arts, 39 technical high schools, 17 government commercial institutes, 42 tailoring and garment making training centres and four vocational training centers