New Delhi: Less pay, difficult work, or quality of faculty — why do the traditional branches of engineering like Mechanical and Civil remain less attractive for students as compared to Computer Science (CS) and Electronics in recent years? Experts feel it is linked to the mindset that CS is a “better field.”
According to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) data from 2017 to 2021, accessed by ThePrint, despite the admission percentage picking up across branches in engineering, it hasn’t even reached 50 per cent in the Mechanical and Civil engineering branches. In contrast, Computer Science and Electronics have had admissions above 60 per cent in all five years.
The admission percentage in Mechanical engineering was 47 per cent in 2017, dipped to 43 per cent in 2018, then further down to 40 per cent and 36 per cent in 2019 and 2020 before going up to 46 per cent in 2021.
For Civil engineering, the admission percentage was 47 per cent in 2017, 43 per cent in 2018, 42 per cent in both 2019 and 2020. It rose to 48 per cent in 2021, still remaining below 50 per cent all these years.
In 2021, the admission percentage in Computer Science and Electronics was 84 per cent and 67 per cent respectively. In 2017, it was recorded at 63 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively.
Tougher work? Lesser pay? Quality of faculty?
Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman, Executive Committee, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and former chairman of AICTE said that it is not that there is no demand for Mechanical and Civil engineers in the market, but people do not want to take them up because they think that the work is tougher.
“Mechanical and automobile industries are growing, not that there is no demand for these branches, but the job cannot be done sitting in AC rooms. They are all happening outside. People do not want to do the difficult work, step out outside and work. They want comfortable jobs…,” said Sahasrabudhe, who himself is a Mechanical engineer by qualification.
“We need to change this mindset about the jobs or else after 10-20 years, we will not have people to do the work of a Civil or Mechanical engineer. Students should take up Mechanical engineering but along with it, they should also take up subjects like Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, so that they can do any job they want,” he added.
Dheeraj Sanghi, vice-chancellor of J.K. Lakshmipat University in Jaipur and a former IIT Kanpur professor, also believes that the placements is what has made Computer Science the most attractive branch for parents and students.
“Every parent who wants his son/daughter to get admission in engineering wants their child to earn fat packages. The biggest salaries that one sees are in Computer Science, hence more admissions take place there,” said Sanghi.
He, however, said that on the other hand, it is not the branch but the students’ merit which leads to a bigger package.
“Most engineering colleges have the option that if you perform well in the first year of engineering, you can get a CS or Electronics branch and most bright students opt for that. In most colleges, the brightest students are from the CS branch and hence they get the highest package. It is not the branch, but the students that are getting a better package. Colleges do not clarify it in such detail to parents and they are stuck on the branch.”
Sanghi also said that because of the prevalent mindset, more students end up choosing CS but there aren’t as many jobs.
“However, Civil engineering has its own takers. I would not worry too much about low numbers in Civil. Most of the students who get admission in Civil get placed, even if they do not get astronomical salaries. It is the CS students I am worried about, a large number of them do not get employed but that does not get much attention,” he added.
Lakshmi Rao, who teaches at a private engineering college in Gurugram, said that quality of education and faculty is also a reason Mechanical and Civil see less interest.
“Forget about IITs, if you look at other government and private engineering colleges, the quality of faculty and education is not as good in Civil and Mechanical branches, because that’s not where colleges can make more money, so naturally they more more attention to what can be profitable to them,” she said.
Rao added that often students who are not able to get a good branch, join Mechanical and Civil branches. “It is sad, but it is the truth.”
(Edited by Anumeha Saxena)
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