According to recent data, over two out of every three MTech seats in Indian engineering colleges are unfilled. This trend has continued even though the number of postgraduate seats has decreased by one-third since 2017–18.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which oversees technical education in India, has suggested increasing the number of postgraduate scholarships offered to students in order to address the decline in interest in MTech programs.
It has suggested to the Ministry of Education that the current monthly sum of Rs. 12,400 be increased by 50%. In June of last year, the AICTE initially sent a letter to the Ministry asking for a 50% increase in the scholarship amount for postgraduate students, to a minimum of Rs. 18,600.
According to this communication, the Ministry announced the most recent increase in 2015. Early in March of this year, the Ministry received a reminder of the issue along with additional recommendations, including requests for funding.
The Ministry notified the AICTE and institutions like as IITs, NITs, and IISERs of the change in scholarship rates for PhD and MTech/ME programs at AICTE-approved and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions in a letter dated February 18, 2015. The monthly scholarship for MTech programs was increased from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 12,400. According to reports, the AICTE has asked for a comparable 50% rise this time around, based on what was then a roughly 50% increase.
According to AICTE data included in the email, the authorized enrollment for postgraduate engineering and technology programs decreased from 1.81 lakh in 2018–19 to about 1.30 lakh in 2023–24. Enrollment decreased from over 66,862 (63% of seats were vacant in 2018–19) to little over 44,000 (66% of seats vacant in 2022–23) during this time.
The AICTE mentioned declining enrollment in postgraduate engineering and technology programs at AICTE-approved universities in its June of last year’s communication to the Ministry.
The overall number of postgraduate students enrolled under the scholarship program has more than halved, from 11,926 in 2018–19 to 5176 in 2022–23, according to AICTE.
The student must have passed the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in order to be eligible for scholarships for postgraduate engineering programs. The scholarship is intended for students enrolled in postgraduate programs approved by the AICTE and at institutions approved by the AICTE. Scholarships will only be awarded to students enrolled in the course who have been approved by the AICTE. applicants admitted through the management quota, “sponsored candidates,” and students who get financial aid from other sources are not eligible for the award.
AICTE has requested that postgraduate scholarships be awarded to graduate students from AICTE-approved institutions with a CGPA of 8.5 or higher, without requiring them to take the GATE exam, in addition to increasing the scholarship amount.
AICTE has requested that postgraduate scholarships be awarded to graduate students from AICTE-approved institutions with a CGPA of 8.5 or higher, without requiring them to take the GATE exam, in addition to increasing the scholarship amount.
Referring to an expert committee meeting held by the AICTE in May last year, the communication stated that the experts “recommended” that the scholarship amount of Rs. 12,400 per month is “rock bottom”, and hence, the AICTE may request the Ministry of Education to increase the amount.
Additionally, it noted that in 2023, the monthly salary for Junior Research Fellows (JRF) and Senior Research Fellows (SRF) was raised from Rs. 31,000 to Rs. 37,000 (JRF) and from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 42,000 (SRF), respectively.
According to AICTE sources, the decline in MTech course enrollment has raised concerns because postgraduate degrees are crucial for engineering teaching positions. They cited a number of reasons for the declining interest, such as students opting to pursue higher education overseas or finding employment shortly after earning a BTech.
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