Large Number Of IIT And NIT BTech And MTech Seats Remain Vacant: Report
Making the youth’s concern palpable regarding the education system even in the premier public institutions in India, data from the prestigious IITs and NITs shows students’ lack of interest in several traditional courses.
A huge number of seats in the premier institutions, such as IITs and NITs, remain vacant, arguably due to the continuous intake of outdated intake capacities in less popular courses. There have been instances recently where professors had to resign from institutions after student intake became almost zero, especially in now-less-popular traditional courses.
A report by The Telegraph revealed that in 13 IITs, around 276 seats in BTech and 1,165 seats in MTech and MSc courses remained vacant this year. Echoing the trend, 401 seats in BTech and 2,604 seats in MTech/MSc courses remained vacant in 19 NITs. A total of 276 seats in BTech and 1,165 seats in MTech and MSc courses remained vacant this year in 13 IITs
Read Also: Mostly Indian Among 3000 Students Queuing Up For Waiter & Servant Jobs In Canada
The news portal, citing an RTI reply, further noted that the vacancy is much higher than others. Out of 1,125 seats in BTech in IIT Dhanbad, around 72 are vacant in 2024-25, in addition to a total of 234 vacant seats in postgraduate courses in one of the prestigious institutes in the country.
The report pointed out that 37 seats were vacant in BTech courses in IIT Guwahati, which had 962 seats in 2024, adding that some of the IITs have not disclosed information regarding seat vacancies. At the MTech level, huge vacancies of seats have been reported in recent years, including at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi. IIT Delhi had 416 seats vacant in 2024-25, while the number of vacant seats was 438 and 376 in 2023-24 and 2022-23, respectively.
Read Also: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Unveils Various Projects At NIT Rourkela
Rajeev Kumar, a former faculty member of IIT Kharagpur, says very few students are opting for some of the branches in some IITs, opining that such seats should be cut.
“Each seat remaining vacant means denial to several admission seekers. It means a wastage of academic and infrastructure resources at public cost,” The Telegraph quoted the academician. Kumar attributed the comparatively fewer vacancies in BTech to the common counselling, which the MTech does not conduct. He stressed the need for the IITs and NITs to come together for common counselling.
The seat allocation fee (SAF) from students during the counselling process before they take admission is also a cause for students’ concern. There have been instances where economically backward students could not pay the SAF to secure admission.
