Paucity of jobs threatens India’s great engg dream
NEW DELHI: The Indian middle class seems to be getting disillusioned with engineering as a career option for their children.
Whether one blames it on the lack of job opportunities or availability of more career options, fact remains that the number of students enrolling themselves in government and private engineering colleges — excluding IITs and NITs — has declined by a lakh in the past two years (see box).
The job market also seems to have reached near-stagnation, with just one out of three students getting placed. While the placement figures vis-à-vis enrolments have witnessed a slight improvement (31% in 2013-14, 38% the next year and about 40% in the last session), there are few takers for engineering colleges now.
Barely half the seats available in engineering institutes across the country were filled last year.
Consequently, many states such as Odisha and Madhya Pradesh have approached the human resource development (HRD) ministry and asked it to conduct a demand-and-supply analysis before granting approval to new engineering institutes. The issue came up for discussion at a recent meeting of the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) too.
“So many engineering colleges are coming up every year. The AICTE grants them approval if the infrastructure and faculty requirements are in place,” said a senior HRD official.
“But one needs to examine demand and supply. A number of students are passing out but not getting jobs,” the official added.
The states want the AICTE to grant permission for engineering institutes only in regions that sorely need them.
AICTE data states that over eight lakh students enrolled themselves in engineering institutes across the country in 2015-16, but only 3.4 lakh were placed. These establishments include those run by state governments as well as private and deemed universities. The HRD ministry is looking into the states’ demand, said officials
“We are opening teaching shops across the country. It should definitely be assessed whether there is a demand for such institutes as many seats are lying vacant. The students will not get placed because there is a lack of demand as well as required skills,” said Deepak Pental, former VC of Delhi University.
Odisha has 221 engineering institutes with an approved intake of 97,590 students, but only 47,601 sought admission in the last academic year. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, 82,048 students sought admission in 299 engineering institutes although the intake capacity is 1,49,796.
The AICTE — which grants approvals to institutes — said enrolment has declined because students are opting for private universities that are not approved by the institute, and therefore don’t reflect in their records.