Registrations to vocational courses in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Maharashtra this year increased by over 15% as compared to 2019, reveals data by the state’s Directorate of Vocational Education & Training (DVET).
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From 280,000 pre-admission registrations that were recorded last year, DVET received around 326,000 registrations this time round; the process ending earlier this week.
Experts have attributed this spurt to the encouragement given by government to skill-based learning with newer courses in several ITIs. “The Centre has made elaborate plans to attract more students to join vocational courses as compared to professional courses. Not only have new colleges and courses been approved in the past few years, more job opportunities have also been created and that could have resulted in the rise in registrations,” said Gopakumaran Thampi, principal of Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering, Bandra.
In 2015, when the state introduced the centralised admissions, around 283,000 students had applied to ITIs. The subsequent years saw an 11-12% jump in applications, with 313,000 and 318,000 students registering in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The number dipped by almost 10,000 applications in 2018 when the registrations ended at 309,000 followed by a mere 280,000 registrations in 2019.
{{/usCountry}}In 2015, when the state introduced the centralised admissions, around 283,000 students had applied to ITIs. The subsequent years saw an 11-12% jump in applications, with 313,000 and 318,000 students registering in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The number dipped by almost 10,000 applications in 2018 when the registrations ended at 309,000 followed by a mere 280,000 registrations in 2019.
{{/usCountry}}However, ITI college principals worry that the spike in registration numbers might not necessarily result in high number of admissions. “This year, registrations to ITIs began before admissions to junior colleges had even started, so that could be one of the reasons for more students locking a seat in an ITI as backup. We will know the real picture only after all three rounds of admissions are over to see if the spike in registration reflects in the classrooms,” said Srinivas Sapre, principal of Bombay Technical School of Engineering, Girgaon.