The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided not to consider any application for setting up new engineering colleges in the country till 2022.
The committee has taken the decision as too many institutes offering B.Tech across India are chasing too few students. Out of 27 lakh net intake capacity, only 13 lakh students took admissions in 2019-20.
The council's committee headed by IIT-Hyderabad chairman BVR Mohan Reddy has recommended that the decision can be reviewed after two years.
According to the report published by AICTE, 50 per cent seats were lying vacant in the academic year 2019-20. This is in spite of students who score zero marks in entrance exams can secure admission at engineering institutes.
The committee noted that 518 engineering colleges were closed between 2015 and 2019.
AICTE data shows that a total of six lakh graduates were offered jobs through campus placements in 2019.
"In view of the large number of vacant seats in various programmes during the last few years and the likely future demand, the council shall not grant approval to new technical institutions at the diploma/ undergraduate/postgraduate level in engineering and technology," stated the new AICTE handbook that outlines the rules and regulations for the coming academic year.
In the wake of sluggishness in the industry, technical education needs an overhauling.
There are 14 lakh seats available for undergraduate, 11 lakh seats for diploma and 1.8 lakh for postgraduate courses. However, only seven lakh have joined undergraduate programmes.
The National Perspective Plan prepared by AICTE says that new programmes or for increase in seat in engineering and technology will be rejected except for courses in emerging engineering disciplines.
