Placements for BTech students in 22 out of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) saw a drop in 2023-24 compared to 2021-22.
The one institute which was the exception was IIT (BHU) Varanasi, according to an Indian Express report which cited data provided by the centre to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
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The Standing Committee headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh noted that this is an “unusual decline,” in its report on the Department of Higher Education’s demand for grants 2025-26.
On top of this, BTech placements across more than half of the 23 IITs fell by over 10 percentage points in the same time period, primarily affecting the older and more prominent ones.
The examples of this are as follows:
- IIT Madras (Fall of 12 percentage points, to 73.29% from 85.71% earlier)
- IIT Bombay (Fall of about 13 percentage points, to 83.39% from 96.11% earlier)
- IIT Kanpur (Fall of 11 percentage points, to 82.48% from 93.63% earlier)
- IIT Delhi (Fall of around 15 percentage points, to 72.81% from 87.69% earlier).
However, the oldest IIT at Kharagpur saw the smallest drop in placements of 2.88 percentage points, from 86.79% to 83.91%.
Only three IITs, which were Jodhpur, Patna, and Goa, recorded more than 90% placements in 2023-24, with the highest percentage of 92.98% being at IIT Jodhpur and the lowest of 65.56% at being at IIT Dharwad, according to the report.
Among the students who actually appeared for placements, the percentage of those who got jobs ranged from 83.15% at IIT Varanasi to 98.65% at IIT Goa, with 14 IITs showcasing more than 90% placements.
IIT Dharwad saw the sharpest drop in placements by around 25 percentage points in 2023-24 vs 2021-22 (90.20% to 65.56%), followed by IIT Jammu (92% to 70%), according to the report.
Apart from IIT Tirupati, all other IITs recorded an increase in the number of students appearing for placements in 2023-24 as compared to 2021-22.
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The committee observed that placements are dependent on market conditions and that “there could be various reasons for this decline like students opting for higher education or pursuing start-up ventures,” according to the report.
It also suggested that the department find ways to “enhance employability accordingly.”