Engineering Admissions 2013: IIT Seats In General Category Are Vacant!

The general category seats in IITs are vacant as the wannabe engineers are refusing to join the IITs - the premium engineering colleges in India. TOI reports that as many as 769 students have refused to join the premier institutes claiming that they don't have faith in the new IITs announced by the government. Some of the students have said that they've been allotted seats in not-so-popular engineering disciplines. The update is surprising because getting admissions into the Indian Institutes Of Technology is arguably more difficult than getting into the top engineering colleges or universities anywhere in the world.

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Usually, engineering seats for the reserved category would go vacant and the general category seats would be the toughest to get. However, this time the general category seats are vacant along with the reserved category seats. The second round of admissions will begin on Wednesday and the IITs hope that the general category seats will fill up quickly. JEE (Advanced) chairman, H.C. Gupta said that hundreds of seats are available for the students of all categories.

Indian School Of Mines, Dhanbad has most vacant seats this year, IT-BHU (now an IIT) on the other hand has very few vacant seats. Until a few years ago, the IITs never had to conduct a second round of admissions to fill up the seats as all the seats would fill up in the first round itself.

The new IITs announced by the government of India haven't been successful in attracting students. These IITs have no track record and it looks like the students are preferring NITs and other top colleges over the brand IIT. Many people believe that the new IITs are equivalent to any other new engineering colleges in India which are usually promoted by business groups or politicians.

Our Take: Sooner or later, this had to happen. The government has diluted the brand IIT by opening up more colleges with the brand name. But the trend isn't limited to IITs. We're noticing a general decline in interest in opting for engineering. Engineering colleges have mushroomed in every corner and the quality of engineering education they offer is questionable. Most of the recruiters have said that it's almost impossible for them to pick up candidates right out of college and put them on the live projects. IT companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro conduct their own training programs for the fresh graduates before they allot them to projects.

We'd like to know from our CEans what do they think about engineering seats going vacant in IITs (that too, in the general category)? What's the probable fix for the situation?

Replies

  • Pensu
    Pensu
    This was bound to happen. When I appeared for JEE, 5 years ago, there were only 7 on them. And now there are 15!(And I am not that old!) Of course, you can't provide the same quality in the new IITs simply because you don't have funds. If I have to choose between a new IIT and an old NIT, my preference would always be NIT. They atleast have years of experience on their back. I guess the unpopular branches were used to be vacant earlier too but as the number of IITs has gone up so is the number of vacant seats. Frankly speaking who opts for manufacturing now a days! At least not the people who are expecting good rank in AIEEE. The only fix here, in my view is, time. Let the new IITs get mature, then I guess people will start preferring them.
  • saneVoiceofGB
    saneVoiceofGB
    We give too much importance to IITs anyways. If those who study there are so brilliant why haven't any IIT produced even one single Nobel prize till now ? Or any significant invention/discovery for that matter. At the end of the day, most IITians also end up working for IT companies as do most grads from NITs or private colleges - and mostly doing the same kind of work.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Well, it's indeed surprising that we don't see innovation / new technologies emerging out of IITs. The IITans have to go work at some other University or corporation to work on innovative things. It almost looks like the IITs have become 'exam conducting' and certification bodies. As a tech bloggers I've to wait for months to get update from IITs about a new technology or innovation.

    ...and I may not be justified; but compare that to the MIT or other US / UK Universities who're shelling out a new innovation almost on daily basis! What hurts me the most is that even the official websites of these IITs seem to be designed in 1999. [Read our discussion: Why do most IIT websites look so outdated? ]

    Again, IITs aren't the ones to blame. Tell me ONE university in India that's actually doing something innovative than conducting exams for students and collecting truckloads of money. IITs get the blame because they've been traditionally known as being the epic engineering institutions in India.

    Waiting to hear from #-Link-Snipped-#.
  • Ramani Aswath
    Ramani Aswath
    1. If it is a demand and supply issue, why increase supply if there is no demand?
    2. Innovation at IITs appears to be limited to finding excuses for no delivery.
    3. Very few of the staff are clued in on commercializing innovations.
    4. High end technologies are used without concern for 'fitness for the intended purpose'. No concern is given to developing the project for production by the regular factory hand.
    5. It is true that symposia, conferences and short term courses are occupying most of the productive(?) time of IITs.
    6. Students seem to do much of their learning from the internet. Didactic lectures are passe. IITs must radically change their approach. Commercializable technology development (Real Engineering) must take precedence. Basic research is important. This can go on as an adjunct activity. Hands on applied work is what produces engineers that can deliver out put.
    7. When Britain itself has evolved with its engineering education, India seems stuck in the 19th and early 20th century mode.
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# : Have the things always been like this? Or is it that the IITs have become complacent with the achievements they've had in terms of producing high-quality engineers?
  • sainandan
    sainandan
    after getting into IITs their main aim is to enjoy because they struggled a lot to get their .they may feel that they are the only persons responsible for developing India.but after completing graduation they just leave our land
  • Anoop Mathew
    Anoop Mathew
    Every giant takes a fall. Here it's shown what India should have changed years ago. The curriculum is killing the creativity and, figuratively speaking, students are mere knowledge engrossed sponges which once put out in the sun turns back to the old sponge again. What we need is to make clay to brick! Only then can a city be built!
  • Ramani Aswath
    Ramani Aswath
    Kaustubh Katdare
    #-Link-Snipped-# : Have the things always been like this? Or is it that the IITs have become complacent with the achievements they've had in terms of producing high-quality engineers?
    Satish Dhawan, the second Chairman of ISRO and former director of IISc told Dr.Valiathan, my former chief at SCTIMST, Trivandrum,' Shankar, your institute is reaching its silver jubilee. Watch out. Indian Institutions celebrating Silver Jubilees become seminar/symposia/ course work factories and cease to do useful productive work. They degenerate to run of the mill universities. I have seen it so many times. Make sure yours does not follow that trend.'

    I am afraid history repeated itself. At least some rear guard action is being planned now.

    Satish was prescient.
  • Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    Sarathkumar Chandrasekaran
    Astonishing news.Those who havent got a seat knows the value of it.
    Craze for engineering is decreasing,drowning,
    But creativity cannot be dumped.
  • lovebox
    lovebox
    A.V.Ramani
    1. If it is a demand and supply issue, why increase supply if there is no demand?
    2. Innovation at IITs appears to be limited to finding excuses for no delivery.
    3. Very few of the staff are clued in on commercializing innovations.
    4. High end technologies are used without concern for 'fitness for the intended purpose'. No concern is given to developing the project for production by the regular factory hand.
    5. It is true that symposia, conferences and short term courses are occupying most of the productive(?) time of IITs.
    6. Students seem to do much of their learning from the internet. Didactic lectures are passe. IITs must radically change their approach. Commercializable technology development (Real Engineering) must take precedence. Basic research is important. This can go on as an adjunct activity. Hands on applied work is what produces engineers that can deliver out put.
    7. When Britain itself has evolved with its engineering education, India seems stuck in the 19th and early 20th century mode.

    Very nice. Thank you Sir. ๐Ÿ˜€
    +100 ๐Ÿ‘



    Well, here's something that might seem odd but interesting. I heard of a person who appeared in this year's JEE (Advanced), secured a rank within 1000, and still refused to take admission saying he might not get his desired course in his preferred IIT. ๐Ÿ˜•


    The fall in quality may also be attributed to the attitude of students taking up engineering. They are mostly motivated by the hope of earning a lot of money, rather than contributing to the field.
    And as #-Link-Snipped-# has pointed out, applied sciences and basic sciences are complementary to each other. There is kind of a symbiotic relationship between the two. We can't take either one to the zenith by leaving the other in a deplorable state. Barring a few exceptions, the condition of basic sciences in our country is not too good. With talented students unwilling to take up courses in basic sciences, the situation does not look like it's going to improve anytime soon.
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    anoopthefriend
    Every giant takes a fall. Here it's shown what India should have changed years ago. The curriculum is killing the creativity and, figuratively speaking, students are mere knowledge engrossed sponges which once put out in the sun turns back to the old sponge again. What we need is to make clay to brick! Only then can a city be built!
    +1๐Ÿ‘ . Couldn't agree more,mate.
    Indian education course (& even system) need to be updated!
    Why in Indian Engineering, practical is not given more priority than theories ? Why are we still learning 10-15 years old course ?
    Should we blame, education system for this ? Ofcourse!
    Education in India, is nothing but business. Bit offtopic, Apologies.
  • VINEETH NARAYAN
    VINEETH NARAYAN
    i personally feel that,students of general category needs to put faith on managemants.....and,another thing that denies many students not to join iit may be distance issues...

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