Government and private engineering colleges in the state have seen a 46.07% decline in admissions in the last four years, the technical education department data shows.
A 32.17% decrease has also been registered in the number of seats in the colleges affiliated to the Rajasthan Technical University, according to the data.
There are 18 government engineering colleges across the state and more than 100 private colleges are affiliated to the Rajasthan Technical university.
The private colleges also report declining interest among students to pursue engineering as a degree. Puja Aggarwal, director of the Arya group of colleges, Jaipur, said the number of admissions in the colleges across the state has declined due to the mushrooming of colleges in the last 10 years.
“With the mushrooming of the colleges across the state, most of the educational institutions are not able to provide quality education. Every stream has a phase as per the demand and supply of the market. So during 2000-2018, engineering was at its peak. But eventually when the quality was not delivered, students were not able to get placed,” said Aggarwal.
“When there is no placement or a job in hand after a degree, it becomes very difficult for the students. Due to all this, the students began to think that pursuing medical studies is a better option than engineering.”
{{/usCountry}}“When there is no placement or a job in hand after a degree, it becomes very difficult for the students. Due to all this, the students began to think that pursuing medical studies is a better option than engineering.”
{{/usCountry}}Even as new government colleges were opened in the state in the last four years, many have admission strength below 10.
The government engineering college, Karauli, and government engineering college, Dhoulpur, have been running from the premises of the government engineering college, Bharatpur. The number of admissions in Karauli and Dhoulpur government engineering colleges is below 10. The number of admissions in the Bharatpur government engineering college is more than 140 this year.
Colonel Ranjit Singh, principal of the college who is in-charge of the three engineering colleges, said the physical visibility of the college has always been a problem. “There are less number of students because there are no jobs in the market. We need to strengthen whatever we have,” said Singh.
Colleges with proper infrastructure do not attract admissions. Principals say other reasons, such as lack of commuting and advertisements, also play a role in less number of admissions.
Shiv Lal, principal of the government engineering college, Bansawara, said late counselling for RTU is a primary reason for less number of admissions. “Government engineering college, Banswara, is in a remote area and there is a trend of students taking up admissions in BSc and B Ed courses rather than pursuing a degree in engineering,” Lal said. “Moreover, counselling for engineering colleges in Rajasthan takes place much later than the counselling for engineering colleges in other states. Because of this, students often opt to pursue engineering in other states.”
Lal added, “120 students qualified to take admissions in our college in 2018. Only 64 of them could turn out for admissions since RSRTC buses were on strike. They could not commute till Banswara since the area does not have a railway station either.”
He said lack of advertisement is a major reason why the students do not opt for admissions in government engineering colleges in the state. “We see that private colleges keep advertising about their placements. No such advertisement is there for government colleges; so, the number of admissions in government engineering colleges is less.”
Coaching centres say students do not want to join educational institutions that are ill-equipped with learning facilities. “There are several colleges in the state where there are no fluctuation in the number of students over the years. This is because they are good colleges; they have proper labs, faculty and an updated curriculum,” said Shailendra Maheshwari, director (academic), Career Point coaching centre, Kota. “However, there are colleges which do not impart quality education, due to which students suffer in placements. Admissions have been very less in such colleges.”
Exposure to industries and fee structure also pose a problem for students in rural areas. “The fee to pursue the course in government engineering college is almost Rs 60,000 and the student living in the border areas, such as Barmer, will not be able to pay it easily. Moreover, exposure to the industries is a problem,” said Sandeep Rankawat, principal, government engineering college, Barmer.
“In Barmer engineering college, we have signed an MoU with petroleum industries so that our students can intern with them. Industry-institute relationship is important for the government engineering colleges in the state,” Rankawat added.