Observations over the last couple of years show an increase in the number of students taking up engineering and technology courses, but this trend is expected to change as IT firms reduce recruitment. The decline in the number of students who enroll in B Tech courses has been a gradual change over the years. In Ahmedabad, after online admission rounds for degree engineering programmes, the admission committee had to announce an additional round to fill around 1,000 vacant seats this year. In Telangana, spot admissions were held for the first time to address unfilled seats in universities. In Tamil Nadu, over 1 lakh engineering seats remained vacant in 2024 even after two rounds of counseling. Why is the trend of engineering declining. Let us explore the reasons behind drowning craze of engineering in India:
Alternate Options
In the last few decades, students have increasingly favored Data Science, Analytics, and Information Technology, which can also explain the decline. Companies have a huge and rising appetite for data analysts and data scientists, thanks to big data, data-powered decision making, and machine learning and artificial intelligence. IT careers, especially in software engineering, security and networking, and cloud solutions, command good pay and are luring many students.
High Competition
An increasing number of engineering aspirants preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) every year runs into several lakhs. JEE is the entrance exam for some of the most coveted institutions in the country. Like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the National Institutes of Technology, and Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIS) among others. Different states and institutes have their respective entrance tests like BITSAT, SRMJEE, VITEEE, MET, KCET, MHCET, WBJEE, etc.
Exorbitant Expenses
Engineering courses hierarchy in India are quite expensive. For BTech course, the average fee structure in Private Colleges is around INR 3 lakhs to 19 lakhs per year. While in government Colleges it is from INR 4 lakhs to 10 lakhs. Students willing to take admission need to check the official site of engineering colleges for exact fee structure.
Placement Challenges
The World Economic Forum has told that only 20% of the engineers and 10% of the graduates entering the labor market are employable. We assume this is due to the changing job requirements and advancements in technology. The AISHE report also revealed a fall in the number of engineering enrollments. It considered the changing requirements of the job market.
Low women Participation
A possible reason can also be attributed to the fewer number of women entering the Engineering branches. Ultimately, however, it rests on the institutions to take initiatives and reach out to students. And more so female students for the purpose of enkindling interest in the Engineering course. Women generally do BA, BSc and BCom. And with greater enrolments in BSc Computer Science, BCA, BBA etc. unless they are studying BTech in Computer Science.
All present workers and newcomers have acknowledged the necessity to upgrade their skill sets in these particular areas. Hence there is a drowning craze of engineering in India.
