Looking Till The End Of The Line

New engineering colleges and NEET face trying times in this crucial year for students

- Arindam Mukherjee

DESPITE being one of the most sought-after professions in the country, engineering education is paradoxically at the crossroads today, facing one of its toughest challenges ever. In the last couple of years, interest in engineering colleges has gone down, leaving many colleges to desperately seek students or face the prospect of empty classrooms.

While the top 200-300 colleges are well applied to, the remaining ones have been given a miss by prospective students. Colleges in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have struggled to fill their seats last year. It is not surprising that a number of them have approached the AICTE for closure. In the last year or so, over 200 colleges have closed down.

Shockingly, in 55 colleges, less than 100 students were admitted in all in the last two years against a full capacity of over 30,000. This year too, about 30 colleges have applied for closure due to lack of students. Many more have applied for reduced student strength, others are discontinuing courses with no takers.