MTech courses in India have seen a steep drop in student admission in the last few years, leading the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to recommend increasing scholarship to postgraduate engineering students by 50%. The move is designed to rejuvenate student interest in seeking higher technical education, which, according to experts, is crucial for India’s innovation and research culture.
AICTE Chairman Professor T.G. Sitharam announced on Thursday that the Council has requested the Ministry of Education to raise the MTech monthly scholarship from ₹12,400 to ₹18,000. The scholarship is given to students who qualify for MTech courses through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), a competitive national-level exam.
MTech enrolment crisis
MTech admissions have been on a continuous decline over the last five years. As per AICTE statistics, student admissions in MTech programmes fell from approximately 1.6 lakh in 2015-16 to less than 60,000 in 2023-24. Most leading engineering colleges, including some IITs and NITs, have witnessed major vacancies for their postgraduate technical programmes.
Several factors have accounted for the declining admission. These are improved job prospects in engineering for BTech graduates soon after, the increase of well-paying private-sector jobs in IT companies, and the presence of foreign study and work opportunities. Students also see the two-year MTech program as less rewarding in career benefits in most situations, particularly when compared to MBA or direct employment.
AICTE proposal and Ministry response
MTech students passing through GATE in the existing system are entitled to a scholarship of ₹12,400 per month from the Ministry of Education. AICTE has submitted that the scholarship should be enhanced to Rs. 18,000 to keep up with living expenses and to make the postgraduate route more financially attractive to students.
Professor Sitharam explained, “We have submitted a letter to the Education Ministry seeking the increase in scholarships to ₹18,000 per month. If approved, this will be a good incentive for students to think again about MTech as a worthwhile academic and career choice.”
The proposal is being deliberated upon by the Ministry of Education. If approved, the increase could become effective as early as the 2025-26 academic year.
MTech students and faculty opine
Students and teachers have welcomed the hike, labeling it a long-overdue move. “The stipend has been fixed for more than a decade now, regardless of inflation and increasing costs. A hike would definitely make it easier for students from weaker sections to pursue higher studies without strain on their finances,” said Dr. Anjali Sharma, a teacher at a well-known NIT.
MTECH student Arun Das, studying a VLSI Design course at an IIT, was in agreement: “The cost of living in places like Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru is extremely high. The stipend level right now does not even pay for rent and food. An increased scholarship would not only ease the burden but also make MTech more viable.”
MTech stakeholders are posing an urgent question today: MTech rolls have fallen consecutively — but will an award increase by itself be sufficient to turn the trend around, or must the degree undergo a wholesale change in its form and alignment to the jobs market?
Experts say that although the increase in scholarship is a welcome move, more far-reaching reforms are perhaps necessary to spur interest in postgraduate technical education. Recommendations include enhancing campus placements, linking MTech with research-oriented industry projects, and providing flexible, interdisciplinary specializations.
Structural reforms already on the anvil
AICTE has already rationalized the seats in MTech. In 2022, it permitted reducing the seats in MTech depending on the seats filled in the last academic year. This action was aimed at preventing the surge of demand low programmes and enhancing the quality of teaching by concentrating resources in fewer, high-demand programmes.
The Council has also suggested curriculum revisions to make MTech courses more industry trend-oriented like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and renewable energy. A few institutions have already launched integrated BTech-MTech and research-based dual degree programmes to consolidate the postgraduate course route.
Also, efforts have been made to accelerate innovation and start-ups through MTech studies. AICTE has urged institutions to integrate MTech thesis work with industry issues and national science and technology missions.
GATE scores and public sector recruitment
Yet another challenge before MTech aspirants is the declining applications of GATE scores by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) for IT hiring. GATE-qualified candidates used to get absorbed into lucrative jobs within companies such as ONGC, NTPC, and IOCL in previous years. However, this trend has decreased, diminishing one of the strongest motivations for students to take GATE and pursue MTech programs.
AICTE officials have recognized this lacuna and are holding talks with PSUs and other recruiters to revive GATE’s significance in hiring processes. Strengthening GATE-associated opportunities may regain some of the pull that MTech had for engineering graduates earlier.
Looking forward
If the planned increase in MTech scholarship is sanctioned, it could arrest the short-term fall in enrolment, particularly in premier institutions. Yet, experts feel that revival of interest in MTech in the long term will hinge on a mix of funding, industry orientation, and better post-graduation job opportunities.
As India prepares to become an innovation and R&D destination in the world, reviving the MTech ecosystem will be pivotal. This step by AICTE can be the first in a series of steps marking a larger transformation to redefine postgraduate technical education in India.
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