A record 1 lakh seats go vacant

By Yogesh Avasthi | Aug 13, 2016, http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/ahmedabad/cover-story/A-record-1-lakh-seats-go-vacant/articleshow/53676912.cms

It's official. Nobody is interested in professional courses, really, unless it is medicine. As compared to around 75,000 vacant seats last year, a record 1 lakh plus seats are vacant this year in engineering, diploma engineering, pharmacy, MBA, MCA and BEd courses across the state. Reason: Not only does the supply of seats outnumber the demand, even the placement scene in colleges is bleak, not to mention meagre salary packages.

People are reluctant to spend money and time on courses that have dismal returns on investment. Dr Manish Shah Vice President of L J Group of Colleges said, "The placement scene is really bad. The salaries being offered in 2016 are the same that were offered in 2004. And these are A-grade companies." Shah further said, "Dull career prospects and low salaries despite spending a bomb on professional courses is quite discouraging. So, students are turning towards BSc and other basic degree courses. If these courses too fail to offer them the desired career boost, there won't be takers for them in the future."

Around 30,500 seats are vacant in engineering (degree) and 28,800 in engineering (diploma) courses. The number of vacant seats in MBA-MCA is around 16,871. This means there is more demand for basic degree courses like BCom, BSc and BA. But even then, at the end of the third round of admissions, 2,679 of the 5,000 seats are still vacant in BSc. The students can now approach the colleges directly for admission to these vacant seats from August 19 to 21.

STUDENT REGISTRATIONS ARE FAR LESS THAN NUMBER OF SEATS

Academic experts say the developments are not encouraging and attribute these to lack of good job prospects the courses here offer. For engineering degree and diploma courses, even the total number of students registered were far less than the number of seats. Another reason for vacant seats, say experts, is that this year Gujarat board class 12 results for Group A was worse than the previous years, automatically narrowing the demand for engineering seats. G P Vadodaria, member secretary, Admission Committee for Professional Courses, said, "There are various reasons for reduced demand for seats in engineering this year.

A major reason is the demand-supply mismatch. Fewer students have cleared class 12 Group A this year as compared to the previous year. As it is, the seats have been going vacant in the past few years. Lesser students meeting the eligibility criteria has also contributed to the same." Vadodaria added, "Besides students are not keen on taking up professional courses like engineering because there are not enough jobs in their subject of interest. High course fees is another dampener." "Besides, our teaching is not in sync with the needs of the industry. There is a lot of scope for syllabus upgradation and incorporation of technical projects," said Shah.

'WE DO NOT HAVE TEACHERS'

A student of Universal College of Engineering said on condition of anonymity, "We do not have a teachers in colleges and there is no way they are going to complete the syllabus. I have no idea about my future and I don't know which company would want to hire us. Gujarat University Vice Chancellor Dr M N Patel said, "As many as 50 to 60 per cent seats are vacant in professional courses. One reason is the supply-demand mismatch (supply is more than demand). Second is poor job prospects. After spending lakhs of rupees in professional courses if they are going to get Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month as salary, it is pointless." He added, "If things do not change, we could see bad times in the next few years for professional courses. The thing is that we are unable to focus on improving the quality of these courses and therefore increasing number of seats serves no purpose. Engineering students are taking up small jobs that offer them a pittance. This happens because we have sacrificed quality."

MORE VACANCIES LIKELY IN BPHARM, BSC

A GU official said, "Currently, the seats in B Pharm and BSc are almost full. But more seats are likely to fall vacant as students getting admission to medical courses will opt out of these courses too." B Ed, which usually sees heavy rush, has 2,800 vacant seats this year. Even a primary teachers' training course has 4,962 vacant seats.

PTC, BED TAKE A HIT

There are around 8,841 seats in 130 PTC colleges. Those who clear the primary teachers' training course usually get a job in the government as vidya sahayaks. But even the lure of a government job has not attracted students as more than half the seats are vacant. Educationist R H Patel said, "The situation in B Ed and PTC colleges bad. There is demand for teachers in the market but they are not being offered salaries. This does not bode well for the education system. There is a heightened craze among students for integrated courses."