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The AISHE 2020-21 divulged that except Engineering, enrollment rose in all other undergraduate courses. (Photo credit: PTI)

Engineering which was once a sought-after course seems to be losing its charm among students. If the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021 is anything to go by, admissions to Bachelor of Technology (BTech) and Bachelor of Engineering (BE) witnessed a decline between 2016-17 and 2021-21. The survey, released in January this year by the Ministry of Education, revealed that enrollment in Engineering courses declined by 10 per cent from 40.85 lakh in 2016-17 to 36.63 lakh in 2020-21.

The number of admissions in Engineering dropped at the time when the total number of enrollment in higher education went up to nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20. The AISHE 2020-21 also divulged that except Engineering, enrollment rose in all other undergraduate courses.

In view of the decline in number of admissions in BE and BTech courses, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) imposed a ban on new engineering colleges three years ago. The moratorium on setting up of new engineering institutions began in 2020-2021 and continued till 2022-23.

The overall enrollment in AICTE-approved Engineering colleges saw a decline from 26.95 lakh seats in 2012-13 to 23.66 lakh in 2021-22. The seat vacancy in Engineering colleges across the country stood at 45 per cent in 2020. However, the AICTE has decided to do away with the ban on opening of new engineering colleges in view of the improved number of admissions in core branches in 2022.

As falling number of admissions in Engineering courses does not draw an inspiring picture for those who want to join this field, here are some of the possible reasons behind declining enrollments.

Other than top engineering colleges like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), many institutes do not offer encouraging job prospects. Even if they get their students placed in a good company, fresh graduates do not get lucrative salary packages. The recent reports of lay offs by tech giants have also added to students worries. Meta, parent company of Facebook, on March 14 announced that it would let go of its 10,000 employees. It also laid off 11,000 employees in November last year. A week ago, Amazon, e-commerce giant, also decided to cut its workforce by 9,000 employees, on top of previously announced layoffs. Participating in the fresh round of layoffs, Accenture, a tech company, has announced to downsize its employee strength by 19,000.

Lack of job prospects coupled with high course fee makes Engineering less attractive. Those who are not able to afford the fee by themselves take education loan to pursue a degree in Engineering. When they dont get a handsome salary or face the fear of getting laid off, these students reel under the burden of paying equated monthly installments (EMIs).

Most of the institutions have failed to align their curriculum with changing times. They are still following the age-old syllabus which does not seem relevant in this day and age. Apart from this, the syllabus of Engineering courses is bulky. Barring a few top institutions, most colleges do not focus much on practical learning, making the course boring for students.

The dwindling number of enrollments in Engineering courses is a reminder for the government and institutions to bring about a change in technical education in the country.

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Explained: Why Engineering course is losing its charm - News9 LIVE