17 Maharashtra engineering colleges funded by World Bank scheme see better placements, more patents

Institutes’ performance also rose in areas such as number of PhDs offered, publications in research journals, number of patents, says report

Seventeen engineering institutes in Maharashtra, which received special funding under a World Bank programme to improve technical education, have seen a 6% and 12% increase in campus placements in their undergraduate (UG) and post-graduate (PG) courses, respectively.

Engineering institutes in the state that got funding have seen a 12% rise in campus placements in their post-graduate courses.

In the second phase of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), which ran from academic years 2011-12 to 2016-17, the central and state governments provided Rs228.9 crore to these institutes.

Out of the 190 institutes that were selected for this project from across India, 17 were from Maharashtra. Of these, six are government-run, eight are government-aided, and three are private institutes.

A project report prepared by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) revealed that on an average, 63.64% of the UG students from these institutes got jobs during campus placements during the programme. Prior to that, the institutes recorded an average placement of 57.30%. The proportion of PG students who got placed on campus also increased from 40.9% to 53.5%.

The DTE report said that in addition to better placements, the performance of institutes improved on other indicators, such as the number of PhDs offered, publications in research journals and number of patents. “The ambience of these colleges has improved to a great extent. The TEQIP-aided institutions have become role models for other institutes,” the report said.

Started in 2006 with assistance from the World Bank, the TEQIP aims to improve the quality of technical and engineering education in the country, so as to produce better professionals and improve productivity as well as competitiveness of the Indian economy.

The second phase of the project, which was carried out in three phases, focused on increasing the employability of students and reducing the shortage of faculty in engineering institutes.

Academicians agree with the DTE’s assessment. “In the second phase, a lot of money was spent on training teachers, which has resulted in drastic changes,” said Gopakumaran Thampi, principal, Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering, Bandra.

“I owe TEQIP for many improvements in my institute, including the establishment of a centre of excellence,” said GD Yadav, vice-chancellor, Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga.