In Tamil Nadu nearly 47 engineering colleges have shut down 92 PG programmes and 19 colleges have ended 42 UG courses in the 2018-19 session.
Including MBA and MCA, these institutions have also shut down the ME courses, which includes:
• Power systems and engineering
• Communication systems
• Applied electronics
• VLSI design
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released the list of programmes and colleges which were approved for closure from this session. Principals of many institutions are expecting shutting down of other courses in the coming academic year since more than 50 percent of the seats are lying vacant.
“We will not be surprised if more colleges offer to close their PG and UG programmes in the coming academic year,” Principal of a college said, who did not want to disclose his identity.
According to the AICTE’s statistics, 19 engineering colleges have closed 42 UG programmes containing mechanical and computer science engineering courses.
Educational consultant D. Nedunchezhiyan pointed out the lack of job opportunities for PG students as one of the main reasons for students not joining in PG courses. “We need to enhance our quality to prepare the students for various jobs including prestigious institutions like ISRO. If we are able to get good jobs then only we can attract the students,” he said.
E. Balagurusamy, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University added the closure of PG courses is a worrying trend as it could affect the manpower in teaching and research.
“All bright students in UG courses are selected in the campus recruitments. The remaining students are joining in PG programmes and even after finishing their master’s degree they could not get good salaries. So, students are not interested in joining ME and M.Tech courses. If the trend continues, there would be a big vacuum for research and teaching,” he said.
