Anurag’s story highlights what educationists and policy makers have been flagging for some time—the falling demand for engineering courses across the board. Data accessed from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)—the technical education regulator of India—shows that the decline has maintained an upward trajectory over the years.
Once considered the most coveted degree, nearly two million of the 6.4 million, or 30 percent, of the BTech (Bachelor of Technology) seats remained unfilled between 2019-20 and 2023-24 across over 3,000 affiliated government and private engineering colleges across the country.
Rise in unfilled seats is not the only issue plaguing India’s engineering education. What is more alarming is the persistently low placement rates of engineering graduates.
Experts cited several reasons for this trend, including the high cost of engineering courses, outdated curricula and inadequate infrastructure in many private colleges. But they primarily cite the lack of job opportunities and rise of more promising alternative courses offering better career prospects as significant factors.
However, AICTE Member Secretary Rajive Kumar says that seats are often left vacant in private institutions, particularly those located in rural or remote areas. “One of the main challenges we’re addressing is ensuring job opportunities in Tier 2 and 3 cities. This will help prevent students from migrating to larger cities for admissions, leaving local colleges with empty seats,” he explains to ThePrint.
He further says that to tackle this issue, AICTE is introducing scholarships for core engineering students and encouraging rural institutions to offer additional programmes, like BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) and BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications), alongside BTech. “This will enable these institutions to thrive and provide a broader educational spectrum. We are also working to strengthen ties between these colleges and the industry, creating more opportunities for collaboration and growth.”
Similarly, the data raises major concerns over placements. Between 2019-20 and 2022-23, around 3.43 million students enrolled in undergraduate engineering programmes across the country. However, only 1.64 million, or 47.7 percent, were able to secure placements.
Kumar, however, points out that many students opt for higher education. “Most of the students get placements on their own and go for higher studies. For campus placements, the percentage is not bad,” he says.
Many students, however, argue that finding a job beyond campus placements is a major challenge.
“Only those from specific backgrounds or social networks—who know how to effectively approach companies with well-crafted resumes—are able to secure jobs without campus placements. This skill is often lacking among rural students,” says Sumedha Singh, a final-year BTech student at Amity School of Engineering. “For others, the inability to secure a placement leaves them facing a competitive job market, prompting many to pursue higher education, like an MBA, in hopes of better opportunities and higher-paying positions.”
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Worrying trends
To tackle the growing problem of low enrolments in engineering and diploma programmes, the AICTE formed a committee in 2018, led by B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman of IIT Hyderabad’s Board of Governors, to recommend reforms.
In 2019, the committee proposed a two-year moratorium on approving new engineering colleges, starting 2020, with reviews every two years.
Following a review in December 2021, the committee recommended extending the moratorium for another two years, but suggested exemptions for aspirational districts with limited access to technical education. The moratorium was lifted in 2023.
AICTE data reveals a troubling trend. Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, 6.49 million undergraduate engineering seats were sanctioned, but only 4.55 million were filled, leaving 1.94 million vacant. Across all levels of engineering education—diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate—a total of 12.20 million seats were sanctioned, of which 7.81 million were filled, leaving 4.39 million vacant.
Although the number of sanctioned seats has steadily increased since the moratorium was lifted in March 2023, vacancies persist.
For instance, in 2023-24, of the 1.35 million sanctioned seats, 1.12 million were filled, meaning that 226,141 seats remained vacant.
The AICTE is yet to provide data for the 2024-25 session, as the data collection process is underway.
A former AICTE chairperson says that removing seat expansion restrictions should have been handled more cautiously.
“Previously, engineering colleges could increase seats or introduce new courses only with the accreditation of National Board of Accreditation (NBA). This policy ensured that only institutions with NBA-accredited programmes could expand or add fields, like AI, data science and machine learning,” the former chairperson tells ThePrint, requesting anonymity. “However, the recent shift away from requiring NBA accreditation raises concerns, as NBA’s rigorous and outcome-based process has maintained its credibility, while National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has faced ongoing issues.”
The NBA evaluates and accredits the quality of technical programmes offered by institutions in India. The AICTE in 2023 removed the requirement for NBA-accreditation as a prerequisite for hiking the number of course seats after lifting the ban on increasing spots.
“The push for increasing seats was initially motivated by the desire for greater access to higher education. However, post-pandemic, despite some recovery in the job market, students have become more cautious about securing employment, resulting in a decline in interest in large colleges,” the ex-chairperson adds.
Ramgopal Rao, former director of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and group vice chancellor of BITS Pilani, emphasises that students now have a wide range of options, engineering no longer being the only one.
“When intake numbers have approved, it’s not due to demand, but because some colleges request it. Students today have more choices than ever. Besides, a large number of students are going abroad for higher education. This year, around 8.5 lakh students are expected to pursue higher education abroad. Unlike in the past, students are now moving away from undergraduate courses and opting for alternatives,” he tells ThePrint.
The issue of vacant seats, however, extends beyond AICTE-approved engineering colleges. It is also affecting state-governed institutions.
For example, reports indicate that last year, more than 13,000 engineering seats remained unfilled in Karnataka. In Maharashtra, the figure stood at over 50,000 seats, prompting the state to conduct a special round of admissions. In Odisha, more than 40,000 seats remained unfilled.
A senior faculty member at Nagarjuna College of Engineering and Technology, Bengaluru says that admissions have been declining in the past few years.
“The massive decline was reported in the last two years after AICTE removed the ban on increasing seats. As a result, many popular colleges expanded computer science and related programmes, while cutting seats in core branches, like civil and mechanical. Even top colleges increased intake for certain courses. This shift left less popular colleges, which previously had at least a few students, with none at all,” he tells ThePrint.
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The placement crisis
The AICTE data for the period between 2019-20 and 2022-23 indicates that almost half of the engineering graduates struggled to find campus placements, despite completing their degrees.
When considering all levels of engineering education—diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate—there were a total of 6.01 million students enrolled between 2019-20 and 2022-23. Of these, only 2.64 million students—41.4 percent—were successfully placed in jobs.
Experts point out both dearth of job opportunities and lack of employability—which means students lack industry knowledge—as the key reasons behind this.
Former IIT-Delhi director Rao says that the major challenge right now is the shortage of white-collar jobs.
“With the rise of AI tools, like ChatGPT, this problem is set to intensify. Automation is rapidly reducing the need for human labour across various industries, including Industry 4.0 (use of digital technologies in manufacturing and industrial processes), he explains.
“For instance, in the past, workers were essential for coding in the software industry, and manufacturing relied heavily on manual labour. Now, even coding tasks are being taken over by AI, and automation is increasingly replacing blue-collar jobs as well. Ultimately, we may reach a point where robots are responsible for building other robots, resulting in a fully automated system.”
Sumit Kumar, chief strategy officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, a programme offered by recruitment and HR company TeamLease, says, “Our findings show that while over 60 percent of engineering graduates are technically employable, only 45 percent meet industry standards. Alarmingly, just 10 percent of the 1.5 million engineers graduating this fiscal year are expected to secure jobs.”
This stark reality highlights a major flaw in engineering education, which, in its current form, fails to create meaningful job opportunities, he elaborates. “One of the key issues is an outdated curriculum that emphasises theoretical knowledge over practical skills, leaving graduates ill-prepared for industry needs. Employers often find that new engineering graduates require an additional six months to a year of training before they can contribute effectively, leading to inefficiencies in the hiring process.”
He also highlights that the lack of adequate infrastructure in many engineering institutions, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities, worsens the situation. “Students often miss out on advanced laboratories, industry partnerships and internship opportunities that could improve their practical skills.”
The road ahead
While AICTE has introduced several initiatives, such as offering new age courses like AI and data science as minors alongside traditional engineering courses, making internships mandatory, and providing scholarships for core engineering programmes, experts stress the urgent need for stronger industry-academia collaborations.
TeamLease’s Sumit Kumar emphasises that revamping India’s engineering education is crucial to meet industry demands and emerging fields, like AI, robotics and renewable energy. “Curricula must evolve to integrate sustainability, automation and data science.To stay relevant, engineering programmes must focus on interdisciplinary learning and hands-on experiences, with a key focus on strengthening industry-academia partnerships through apprenticeships and cooperative education programmes,” he says.
Rao also highlights the importance of innovation-driven economic growth to boost job opportunities. However, he warns that research alone won’t create jobs unless it leads to groundbreaking products and processes. “For instance, quantum research will only create jobs when it results in tangible products. Bridging the research-innovation gap is critical to turning research into employment opportunities,” he explains.
While India ranks seventh globally in academia-industry collaboration, this effort needs to be accelerated, he adds. “The industry requires more incentives to collaborate with academia. Tax benefits, policy mandates and concessions could encourage this. Only through robust academia-industry partnerships, can we drive research, innovation and job creation,” Rao says.
According to a former IIT director, there must be stricter control over the number of seats being sanctioned. “Colleges increase the number of seats assuming they will be filled, but admissions aren’t growing at the same rate. To address the mismatch between demand and supply, a more rigorous and systematic process should govern seat allocations,” he tells ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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