Engineering and polytechnic colleges across Maharashtra are undergoing a transformation from traditional to contemporary programs, as per recent government resolutions. Approximately 43 institutions will see a reduction in seats by over 1,700 for engineering diplomas, while about 66 institutions have been authorized to introduce modern courses, resulting in an increase of 2,000 seats.
Overall, this year’s government approval amounts to 15,000 engineering seats, marking a rise from last year’s 1,40,000 to 1,55,000 across the state, according to a technical education official. Additionally, there has been an increase of 5,000 seats for polytechnic courses for the upcoming academic year. The detailed government resolution outlining these changes will be released soon.
Wednesday saw the publication of several government resolutions regarding course approvals and closures in institutions. The resolutions indicate the closure of civil engineering diploma courses in 13 institutions and mechanical engineering diploma courses in 12 institutions. Conversely, 14 out of 66 institutions received approval to commence new intakes for contemporary courses such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).
“In the past three years, there has been a significant push by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to promote new-age courses like AI, ML, and data science, which has attracted more students to engineering in state universities,” noted Professor Suresh Ukarande, principal of K J Somaiya College of Engineering. He emphasized the growing opportunities in engineering amidst competition in the medical field.
Colleges are also adjusting seat vacancies to align with financial sustainability. A principal from a Thane-based college mentioned, “We have reduced civil engineering seats by 50%, which were consistently vacant over the past five years, impacting our finances. This year, we have reallocated these seats to AI-based courses, expecting to attract more students and stabilize our institute financially.”
Registration for diploma courses continues until July 18 through the directorate of technical education portal. The engineering centralized admission process (CAP) will be announced soon by the common entrance test (CET) cell.