Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Dharmendra Pradhan, union education minister, has said that over the last two years, over 10,000 seats have remained vacant across all Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), while over 8,700 seats were vacant across various National Institutes of Technology (NITs). Educators blame it on a bigger problem staring the Engineering sector.
Current situation
Ramana Rao, director, NIT Warangal, says, “The older NITs do not face any issue regarding vacant seats. Few students may drop out at times to take admission in the preferred stream in a local college, which leads to seats remaining vacant. While the number is minuscule, it may be adding to the issue.” Newer institutions, which are establishing themselves, might be facing this issue but should soon be able to overcome it, he adds.
At NIT Puducherry, all seats get filled, but those who drop out for medical admissions leave certain seats vacant. “This number accounts for about 2% of the total student population at the institute,” says Sankaranarayanasamy K, director of the institute.
Amongst the newer NITs, NIT Andhra Pradesh was established in 2015-16. Tapas Paramanik, admissions officer, says, “The trend of admission in the institute shows that the number of UG vacancies are decreasing concerning the infant stage and is fluctuating at around 5%.” Data from the institute reveals that in 2020-21, there were 19 vacant seats in BTech (UG), 16 in MTech (PG) and 14 in PhD courses. The number witnessed a slight increase in 2021-22, with 34 vacant seats in BTech (UG), 32 in MTech (PG) and 25 in PhD courses.
Troubling reasons
Rao says that students choosing a preferred Engineering branch at a local college over an NIT seat is the issue. Agreeing, Paramanik says, “We have observed that mainly candidates who get seats in certain branches, such as Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (MME), Chemical Engineering, and Bio-Tech do not join because they are not interested in that particular branch. Such candidates shift to other institutes for their desired branches during the final rounds of counselling.”
Sankaranarayanasamy says that getting a medical seat is more attractive to students for which they may leave their Engineering seat at NIT.
Bring a change
Paramanik says that awareness regarding the advantage and prospectus including career opportunities after studying in various emerging albeit slightly lesser-known streams needs to be conveyed to the candidates and their parents. “This is one of the major ways to motivate them to take admission in those branches rather than deferring their seats at the NITs,” he adds.
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