Tamil Nadu accounted for the least number of registrations among the southern states in JEE (advanced). The state has also been registering a decline in enrolments in engineeringcolleges.
Bad news for engineering? Quite the contrary, say experts.
After a phase of mindless proliferation of engineering colleges – 614 at the last count the engineering education sector is seeing a natural weeding out. The result, educationists say, will soon be a realistic number of institutions that can offer quality education and students who are employable. Moreover, with a simultaneous rise in demand for arts and science courses, higher education may be seeing a more open acceptance to the scope of different courses.
A look at the Joint Engineering Examinations (advanced), the gateway into central institutes like IITs and NITs, shows that 4,174 candidates registered from Tamil Nadu–the least number of candidates within the IIT Madras zone that includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. Only Puducherry, the tiny Union territory, has a lesser number of candidates than Tamil Nadu. The trend was similar in 2015.
Some educationists say several candidates may not want to go through two rounds of JEE and prefer to go through single window counselling to gain entry to private colleges. Here, too, the numbers have dwindled: Those enrolled in the 614 affiliated colleges to Anna University dipped from 1.7 lakh in 2014 to 1.5 lakh in 2015.Experts say the numbers are symbolic of the sector maturing. “This is a move towards a broad-based pattern rather than a polarising trend toward a particular field which is driven entirely by popularity. It is positive disruption and will give room for more productive employment opportunities,” says Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean (planning and development), SASTRA University .
He points out that many students may not be willing to take a risk of uncertainty over getting a seat through JEE. “There is a sharp fall in the demand for engineering applications too in the single window system. Students are opting for other alternates which can fetch them employment. It’s an encouraging trend which focuses on quality,” he said.
Professor G Markendeyulu, JEE (advanced) chairman, IIT-M, says many students in Tamil Nadu are keen on the civil services exams; many others opt for commerce streams.The long queues outside arts and science colleges show a correspondingly increase in demand for other subjects. Due to the growing demand, University of Madras on Monday decided to hike its seat intake capacity by about 20%, adding approximately 5,000 seats to the pool. This admission season colleges reported a rise in demand for English courses in the range of 20% to 70%, while some colleges received applications six times that of the seats for science subjects.
REFERENCE:
Jun 15, 2016.Why fading craze for engineering is good.The Times Of India.retrieved from
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Why-fading-craze-for-engineering-is-good/articleshow/52762472.cms
