Enrollment Rate In Engineering Institutes Continues To Dip
According to an analysis of the last six years of higher education data, engineering as a profession has been losing ground.
The number of students getting enrolled in government and private institutes excluding IITs and NITs has recorded a steady decline in the number of admissions, by at least 1,00,000 in the last two years.
In 2010-11, 18% students opted to enroll in an engineering institute compared to only 15% in 2015-16.
According to data provided by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, it shows how commerce and humanities have been taking over as a career of choice and the percentage of students choosing engineering has been dipping constantly.
There has been an excess of engineering institutes that have come up in the last few years. Institutes affiliated to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have increased tremendously from 1,511 in 2006-07 to more than 3,288 institutes in 2015-16. The number of IITs have increased too, from seven in 2005 to 23 at present.
According to official figures, over 27 lakh seats across several engineering colleges were vacant in the last three years. Reportedly, the government plans to take some action in this regard and will shut down institutes that have recorded less than 30 percent admissions in the last five years.
This trend could be attributed to a stagnated job market for engineers as only one out of three engineering students are getting campus placements. Jobs have dried up and the industry demands have changed. While most students used to opt for electronic and computer engineering in 2010, the focus has shifted towards mechanical engineering now.
Institutes are churning out more graduates than there are jobs in the market today.
Most applicants do not meet the required expectations of the companies offering placements. According to a survey by NASSCOM in 2011, only 25% graduates working in the Indian IT sector have the required skills. Moreover, according to AICTE’s own data, more than 8,00,000 students were enrolled in private as well as government engineering institutes in 2015-16, only 3,40,000 applicants managed to secure a job.
