Maharashtra’s free professional education for EWS girls sparks surge in seats

The decision to provide free education for girls from the EWS has led to a spiralling in the number of seats in engineering, pharmacy, and agriculture

MUMBAI: The state’s recent decision to provide free education to girls from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in professional courses has led to a spiralling in the number of seats in engineering, pharmacy, and agriculture. Education experts have raised concerns over this sudden surge and the resultant potential proliferation of educational institutions.

This year, the state has increased approximately 15,000 seats in engineering, 3,000 in pharmacy and around 500 in agriculture. (Representational image) (HT file)

This year, the state has increased approximately 15,000 seats in engineering, 3,000 in pharmacy and around 500 in agriculture. Experts have also highlighted that for the first time, the government has permitted colleges to increase seats even in the midst of the admission process. The earlier deadline for this was up to March, and educationists say that the anomaly this time is because of the election year.

The approved seats for engineering have pushed the intake capacity across the state from 1,40,000 last year to 1,55,000. In agriculture, as per the latest GR, two new agricultural colleges have been approved, and one existing college has been expanded, adding 180 new seats to the agricultural degree programs. The state currently has 20 government, two aided, and 88 unaided colleges offering agricultural degrees, with a total admission capacity of 11,818. Last year, 9,660 seats were filled, leaving 2,158 seats vacant.

Sources from the higher and technical education department revealed that after minister Chandrakant Patil’s first announcement of free education for girls on February 1, the department saw a surge in the number of applications for new colleges as well as new divisions. “We applied for two divisions for engineering and got approval,” said the principal of a Mumbai college. “It has helped us enrol more students. We plan to focus on encouraging more girls to take advantage of this opportunity.”

The state government has sanctioned the provision of free higher education for female students from families with an annual income of below ₹8 lakh. Currently, female students admitted under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and EWS categories receive a 50% fee waiver.

Academics and students have raised several concerns about the government’s move. “After 2010, there was a sudden surge in the number of engineering colleges, as the government started reimbursing fees,” said a student representative from an engineering college. “This led to the mushrooming of colleges but no one bothered about the quality of education being offered in them. Now with this new scheme, we are concerned that the same thing will happen again. But if the government monitors this scheme properly from Day One, it will be beneficial.”

A teacher from a Mumbai-based college opined that the government’s move to approve new colleges and divisions was in view of the assembly elections later this year. “On the one hand, the government is not allowing the appointment of teachers and on the other hand it does this,” he said. “It shows that it is interested in opening new colleges but not the quality of education. This stand brings into question its real intentions.”

Initially, there was uncertainty on whether the scholarship would be provided as a reimbursement or a freeship, causing confusion among both college administrations and students. However, last week, Chandrakant Patil indicated that it would be a freeship, although the order on this is yet to come.

Elaborating on this, advocate Kuldeep Ambekar, president of the NGO Student Helping Hands, said, “100% concession in higher education for girls is a welcome move but it should not be a reimbursement scheme. To date, there are very many schemes where students have experienced delays in reimbursement, which impacts their careers. Our demand is that the government should announce that these are freeships.”

Arun Sawant, pro vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai, pointed out that every year, thousands of seats go vacant after all the admission rounds in engineering, pharmacy and agriculture sectors are completed. “There were 44,000 seats vacant last year in engineering and 14,355 seats in pharmacy,” he said. “The requirement of new colleges and divisions must be as per needs. If there are lots of vacancies and even then, the government is allowing new colleges, it raises questions about the intention of the government as well as that of the colleges.”

Meanwhile, an officer from the higher and technical education department pointed out that the government was focusing on new age courses such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in engineering. While accepting the increased number of applications for new colleges, the officer said, “This year we saw a surge in applications but it is not connected with the fee reimbursement scheme. It happens because of the introduction of new courses.”