Core engineering: Time HEIs recognised future is not IT, CSE Premium

AICTE data shows rise in B.Tech seats, shift towards CSE, AI, and semiconductor jobs, urging colleges to adapt.

As per recent All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) data, B.Tech seats approved by it rose to a 14.90 lakh in the 2024-25 academic year reversing a seven-year downward trend. The sizeable growth of about 16% in the last four years is due to a steep increase of about 50% in Computer Science and allied branches like IT, Data Sciences, AI/ML, Cloud Computing, Block Chain, Cyber Security and so on.

While enrolments have grown by about 63% in the last five years, admissions in  CSE and allied branches are estimated to have practically doubled from about 2.35 lakh in 2020-21 to about 4.50 Lakhs in 2024-25, whereas the same in Core Engineering disciplines like Civil, Mechanical, Chemical and Electrical have nosed down steeply. So much so, some engineering colleges have even phased out these core branches. During 2024-25 alone, the AICTE approved the closure of 27 engineering Colleges and 1,025 courses.

Recruitment of fresh BTech graduates by IT sector after peaking at 6 lakh in 2022, dropped to 2.50 lakh in 2023 and further slumped to less than 1 lakh in 2024, due to slow down of the IT sector because of  various geo-political-economic factors. Though a marginal improvement is expected in 2025, there are no visible signs of a turnaround happening any time soon. This coupled with the adverse impact of AI on IT jobs, particularly for the programming roles, raises the following questions : 

Will  such unabated increase in admissions in CSE and allied branches be in the interests of the students?  

Will it create an imbalance in supply of engineers, excess in CSE discipline and shortfall in the core engineering disciplines, which may be needed the most, in the days to come?  

It is in this context that an analysis of the future potential job opportunities for graduates in Core Engineering disciplines in the next 5-10  years should be made so as to enable the Institutions as well as the aspiring students to take informed decisions rather than being guided only by the immediate past or current demand by the students .