‘Those which have had enrolment of less than 30% of their capacity for 5 years will be told to shut down’

Over 800 engineering colleges across the country that have had a student enrolment of less than 30% of their capacity for five consecutive years will be asked to shut down from the coming academic year (2018–19).

The chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, said here on Friday that this was inevitable as it reflected on the quality of the colleges.

“Students can be shifted to engineering colleges in the vicinity that have sufficient student strength,” he said, and added that the decision was taken after several deliberations and collating data from colleges from different States.

“We compared the figures for the total intake and the admissions made for five years, and made a list of colleges that need to be shut down,” he said.

10,363 colleges

There are 10,363 engineering colleges across the country. The AICTE has taken this decision as thousands of engineering seats go vacant each year as supply outstrips demand. For the 2017–18 academic year, over 29,000 engineering seats went vacant in Karnataka alone.

“The seats that go vacant are in colleges where infrastructure is inadequate and faculty members are not up to the mark. So it is better if such institutions close down,” an official from the Karnataka’s Department of Technical Education said.

Falling demand

According to the official, some streams were losing their “sheen”. Even reputed colleges were approaching the AICTE to close down streams that do not have demand, he said.

However, despite the large number of vacant seats, managements of several college continue to file applications with the AICTE for starting new engineering colleges.

An official with the Department of Technical Education said, “It is the logic of demand and supply. There is no need for the AICTE to intervene and close down colleges. These institutions will eventually shut down.”