BENGALURU: Considering lesser demand for seats in several engineering colleges, at least 35 engineering colleges in Karnataka have shut down 75 courses. As per data available from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), as on date, 75 engineering courses have received AICTE approval for closure in 35 engineering colleges, which include a few top colleges like RV College of Engineering (RVCE) and BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE) in Bengaluru.
According to the principals of the colleges and management representatives, they are unable to fill several courses and it has become a burden for them to run such courses.While some have closed undergraduate courses, some have shut down post-graduate courses. RVCE has closed down its post-graduate courses in digital electronics and communication engineering; BMSCE has downed shutters on architecture; Acharya Institute of Technology (AIT) has closed down two undergraduate courses of construction technology and management and manufacturing science and engineering; Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering (DSCE) has closed down four of its post graduate courses like chemical engineering, Masters in engineering and management, biomedical signal processing and instrumentation and bio-informatics; and Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering (SVCE) has closed down an undergraduate course of electrical and electronics engineering.
A principal of one of the top engineering colleges in the city said, “This is because of the fall in the demand for these courses. Even popular branches like computer science and electronics and electrical engineering have few takers these days. The main reason is that the number of colleges in neighbouring states has increased and naturally demand goes down here.”
Even top colleges are struggling to fill 180 seats at both UG and PG courses in some streams. “Mushrooming of engineering colleges across India is one of the major reasons for this,” said another principal of a top engineering college.
A few experts also said when particular courses do not have the required student strength, it is economically not feasible for the colleges to run those courses.They felt that this phenomenon may increase in the coming days as well. Many colleges have to shut shop because of these reasons.