Mumbai sees 81% rise in BSc applications from 2011-16

Mumbai city news: According to the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), of the 1.50 lakh seats available in engineering institutes across the state, over 66,000 were vacant last year.

The number of students who applied to Bachelor in Science (BSc) courses in the city has increased by more than 80% in five years.

Principals said the fall in interest in engineering courses coincided with the increase in demand for BSc courses. (Hindustan Times)

Figures released by University of Mumbai revealed that the number of BSc applications rose by 81% in five years — from 12,206 in 2011-12 to 22,144 in 2015-16.

“Students seem to feel that the job satisfaction and remuneration that engineering graduates get do not match their expectations,” said Kavita Rege, principal of Sathaye College, Vile Parle. “So, they prefer degrees in pure science and follow them up with specialised master’s courses,” she said.

Rege added that even corporates prefer students with BSc-Information Technology (BSc-IT) degrees to those with engineering degrees at campus placements. “The retention rate of BSc graduates is much higher than those with engineering backgrounds,” she said.

According to the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), of the 1.50 lakh seats available in engineering institutes across the state, over 66,000 were vacant last year.

Principals said the fall in interest in engineering courses coincided with the increase in demand for BSc courses.

“Students have noticed that instead of putting in four years for an engineering degree, they can get a BSc and a master’s degree in five years. The latter is as important as an engineering degree, if not more,” Mangaonkar said.

Admissions to medical and dental courses across the country have also seen several changes in the past couple of years, forcing students to book seats in BSc courses as back-ups.

“Especially in the past two years, we have seen several good scorers opt for BSc courses because they could not crack the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) at their first attempt or find a seat in the course of their choice,” said the principal of a suburban college.