For the year 2017-18 nearly 50% seats in the colleges of Engineering and courses related to technology and approved by the All India Council for Technical Education, remained vacant. A detailed version of the same was also covered by Higher Education Plus in its September edition.
The same has been brought to forefront again by AICTE Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe again. Speaking about the current state of engineering colleges in the country, the AICTE chairman said:
“Institutes located in the interiors with as many as 300-400 seats, started with an aim to cater to the educational needs of students in remote locations are on the verge of closing down, despite their best efforts. These colleges do not attract enough enrolment as students opt for institutes that offer better facilities and exposure”.
There is a rampant growth in these technical institutes, instead of a requirement based increase, that is the cause of the concern. Sahasrabudhe in his speech also included the fact that in spite of the seats lying vacant in these colleges, permissions to set up new institutes were granted.
Statistics show that out of a total of 35,52,483 seats in all technical institutes and colleges, 16,57,615 remained vacant. Given the present scenario, AICTE is looking for alternate options to use some of these institutes that have adequate infrastructure and faculty, but are no longer student’s favorite.
