COVID-19 was final nail in the coffin for ailing technical institutes
Representational Image. Closure of as many as 72 engineering colleges this year has again raised questions on if the engineering education is losing its sheen. As per the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), in 2019 more than 75 engineering and technical colleges opted for progressive closure while 54 and 106 institutes were closed down 2018 and 2017, respectively. Covid pandemic proved to be one of the triggering factors this year that led to the closure, these institutes have for long been struggling to fill seats.
“Majority of institutions have migrated to online learning due to the pandemic, but many do not have the infrastructure to make the switch. Many such institutes have voluntarily applied for closure as they were already reeling with vacant seats for last many years,” said Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, AICTE.
“The closures are also in line with the AICTE’s effort to reform professional education and weed out subpar institutes that mushroomed all over the country,” he adds.
Last year, out of the total 1,67,652 engineering seats available in Tamil Nadu, only 83,396 (49.74 % ) were filled. In Maharashtra, 50% engineering seats have been reported to be vacant in this academic year. Several other states including Gujarat, Telangana, Chattisgarh and Odisha have similar stories to tell. About 60% of the seats in engineering colleges under the Consortium of Medical, Engineering, and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) quota were not been filled for the 2019-20.
He is still hopeful of having quality institutes. "The statistics should not be mistaken as a worrisome scenario pointing towards the notion of Engineering losing its sheen. It rather reflects that quality institutes can meet the demand of students who have genuine interest in pursuing engineering," he told Education Times.
Last year, the regulatory body also declared that no new institute will get permission from AICTE to introduce bachelor degree courses in traditional engineering disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Electronics engineering as the industry focus is now on new-age disciplines including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), Blockchain, Robotics, Quantum Computing, Data Sciences, Cyber Security, 3D Printing & Design, AR/VR.
“Majority of institutions have migrated to online learning due to the pandemic, but many do not have the infrastructure to make the switch. Many such institutes have voluntarily applied for closure as they were already reeling with vacant seats for last many years,” said Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, AICTE.
“The closures are also in line with the AICTE’s effort to reform professional education and weed out subpar institutes that mushroomed all over the country,” he adds.
Last year, out of the total 1,67,652 engineering seats available in Tamil Nadu, only 83,396 (49.74 % ) were filled. In Maharashtra, 50% engineering seats have been reported to be vacant in this academic year. Several other states including Gujarat, Telangana, Chattisgarh and Odisha have similar stories to tell. About 60% of the seats in engineering colleges under the Consortium of Medical, Engineering, and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) quota were not been filled for the 2019-20.
He is still hopeful of having quality institutes. "The statistics should not be mistaken as a worrisome scenario pointing towards the notion of Engineering losing its sheen. It rather reflects that quality institutes can meet the demand of students who have genuine interest in pursuing engineering," he told Education Times.
Last year, the regulatory body also declared that no new institute will get permission from AICTE to introduce bachelor degree courses in traditional engineering disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Electronics engineering as the industry focus is now on new-age disciplines including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), Blockchain, Robotics, Quantum Computing, Data Sciences, Cyber Security, 3D Printing & Design, AR/VR.
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