Increasing number of IIT seats going vacant, maximum at IIT-BHU
What's the story
According to data compiled by the HRD ministry, the number of seats lying vacant in the premium institutes has seen a rising trend in the last five years, except in 2014. The maximum number of seats going vacant in IITs is at the IIT-BHU. This has prompted the ministry to set up a panel which made several recommendations to address the issue.
Data
The HRD ministry data on IIT seats
According to the ministry data, of the nearly 11,000 seats across the IITs, a total of 274 seats remained vacant from 2013, which included 15 in 2013, five in 2014, 39 in 2015, 96 in 2016 and 121 in 2017.
IIT-BHU
IIT-BHU has seen more than 30 vacancies in 2017
As far as IIT-BHU is concerned, it recorded maximum vacancies across all 23 Indian Institutes of Technology since 2013. It had 32 vacancies in 2017, 38 in 2016, 28 in 2015, three in 2014 and four seats in 2013. The Indian School of Mines (which was upgraded to the status of an IIT in 2016) recorded 23 vacancies each in 2016 and 2017.
Vacancies
IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Hyderabad had all seats taken between 2013-2017
The IIT-Kanpur and the IIT-Hyderabad had all their seats taken between 2013 and 2017, while the IIT-Delhi recorded zero vacancies between 2013 and 2015. In 2016 and 2017, the IIT-Delhi had two seats vacant each year. As far as IIT-Bombay is concerned, it had all its seats filled in 2013, 2014 and 2015, while had two vacancies in 2016 and one in 2017.
The committee
A committee was formed to recommend measures regarding the vacancies
"In order to minimize the vacancies in IITs, NITs and other Centrally-Funded Technical institutions, the HRD ministry constituted a committee to recommend suitable measures," a senior ministry official said. The committee submitted its report earlier this year. The committee recommended the institutions may review seats in each discipline based on employment opportunities, national requirement, available infrastructure and scope for future, he said.
Suggestions
The committee recommended streamlining the counseling process
The ministry official said, "Some disciplines may be considered for closure or be kept in abeyance for a few years if needed. New courses and disciplines may be introduced only after carrying out market opportunity analysis." The committee also recommended streamlining the counseling process by having multiple rounds as well as taking other pro-active measures like launching helpline to facilitate students in making choices.