Vocational courses admissions begin in Maharashtra: 7,000 more seats this year, still not enough

Mumbai city news: This year, there are 7,403 more seats across the state, including 370 in Mumbai and its suburbs and 200 in Thane

More seats are up for grabs for vocational courses in the state’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), but these are still not enough to meet the demand.

HT file

This year, there are 7,403 more seats across the state, including 370 in Mumbai and its suburbs and 200 in Thane.

Anil Jadhav, director, Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET), said more seats were available as new, private ITIs were established, and existing ones introduced new courses. The intake of the welder trade course increased by the most margin — with 1,029 more seats. The online registrations, under the state’s centralised admission process (CAP) for 417 government and 454 private ITIs began on Monday and will continue till July 2. There are 1,33,084 seats across 79 trades up for grabs this year. Aspirants can register themselves on www.admission.dvet.gov.in

The additional seats, however, are nowhere near meeting the demand for vocational courses. DVET received 3,24,136 application in 2016, 42% more than the 2,28,289 application it got two years ago. But intake across the state has gone up only by 8%.

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Principals said educational trusts were reluctant to start new institutes or courses as they need large investments, while returns from fees were poor.

The stringent rules of the National Council for Vocational Training — the regulatory body — only adds to the problem, they said.

“No one seems interested in ITIs because, unlike engineering colleges or polytechnics, they are not profitable. The cost of training students exceeds the fees we charge,” said Devendra Patne, principal Father Agnel ITI, Vashi.

The government fixes fees, even at private ITIs and organisations that run them are not allowed to earn profits.

Shrinivas Sapre, principal, Bombay Technical School of Engineering ITI, said while ITIs offer several specialised courses, only a few are popular. “In Mumbai, there’s hardly any demand for Fitter and Turner trades. But if we want to start a popular course, we will need funds.”

Last year, PMO had directed the skills ministry to open 7,000 ITIs in a year. But not a single new government ITI has come up in the state.