There are numerous media reports over the years highlighting a decline in core engineering seats at the expense of Computer Science & Engineering. Recent media reports also suggest faculty cuts in core engineering courses including salary reductions of 50% or more and even layoffs, forcing the faculty to opt for other forms of livelihood. Even in IITs where detailed data is available, admissions to CSE-related courses top the list, more so in recent years.
Since India’s independence, its literacy rate has grown significantly. According to the 2011 Census, literacy rose from 18.32% in 1951 to 72.98%, and by 2023, it further increased to 86.2%. Despite this progress, the education sector continues to face multiple challenges. One key issue is the definition of “literacy,” which as per the 2011 Census is simply the ability to read and write with understanding in any language. Critics argue that this measure does not account for professional or technical qualifications.
Other longstanding challenges in the Indian education sector include gender disparity, limited access to quality education across socioeconomic lines, a significant gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills, and unemployment. A 2009 report by the Yashpal Committee highlighted numerous issues in the higher educational system, especially the gap between the theoretical and practical knowledge taught in various disciplines of higher education, leading many graduates from higher education institutions to lack sufficient technical competence. However, the report praised institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as exceptions, providing quality engineering and management talent.
Against this backdrop, and amidst numerous media reports (here & here) over the years highlighting a decline in core engineering seats at the expense of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), we look at admission trends across 14 of the 23 IITs in India.
Methodology
- The data for the story is sourced from the collection of datasets on IIT Admissions and Placements by Dataful, which has curated the same data obtained through Right to Information (RTI) Applications.
- Though the RTI Applications were filed with all the 23 IITs in India, only 14 of them have provided data. Consequently, the analysis is limited to these 14 IITs.
Number of IITs and Average Number of Admissions have increased
The First ever IIT in India dates to almost the time of Independence. The first ever was IIT established was in Kharagpur in 1951, followed by IIT-Bombay in 1958, IIT-Madras, and IIT-Kanpur in 1959, and IIT-Delhi in 1961. Following these, only two other IITs were established till 2001, namely IIT-Guwahati in 1994, and IIT-Roorkee in 2001 (converted from the University of Roorkee). Since 2001, the number of IITs has increased from 7 to 23 by 2016.
In the 14 IITs being analysed from the academic year 2006-07 to 2022-23, about 24 different programmes of study, including online, and dual degrees, with 142 different types of courses of study were offered.
Considering the availability of admissions data for all 14 IITs consistently from 2016-17, we analysed the data from 2016-17 to 2022-23. It showed a consistent year-on-year increase in the total number of admissions among all programmes of study from 7,125 in 2016-17 to 11,046 in 2022-23. This growth can be attributed to an increase in both the range of disciplines and programs offered, as well as the expansion of seat availability in each discipline.
Computer Science and related courses dominate the number of admissions in the recent years
In the midst of reducing admissions in recent years for core undergraduate engineering courses (Bachelors in Technology), namely Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineering, we analysed the number of admissions to these courses and other undergraduate courses offered in IITs. However, data limitations restricted our analysis to 9 out of the 14 IITs, as 5 did not provide detailed, course-wise admission data.
During the period of 2016-17 to 2022-23, in the 9 IITs for which detailed data is available, there were a total of 12,763 admissions for 24 different types of courses offered for undergraduate engineering degree studies. For analysis, we categorized 24 different courses into 8 areas as follows:
Among the 9 IITs providing course-wise undergraduate admissions data, area-wise analysis from 2016-17 to 2022-23 shows that Computer Science and related fields consistently attracted more admissions than other areas, except in 2017-18, when Mechanical Engineering exceeded Computer Science by just 2 seats.
During this period, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering courses consistently led admissions, with Computer Science and related fields emerging as clear favourites by 2019-20. Initially, from 2016-17 to 2018-19, the gap among these sectors remained modest, ranging from 2 to 20 admissions. However, by 2019-20 through 2022-23, this difference widened significantly, with Computer Science surpassing other fields by 80 to over 150 seats.
This shift aligns with findings from a recent Times of India report on Telangana, which noted a growing preference among students for CSE & related courses like Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Data Science over traditional disciplines like Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical Engineering. As a result, colleges have reduced seats and faculty positions in these traditional fields. As per media reports, faculty cuts have included salary reductions of 50% or more and even layoffs, forcing the faculty to opt for other forms of livelihood, including working as delivery boys, etc. to eke out a living.
Despite progress, female admissions remain below 30%
In terms of gender, across 14 IITs from 2016-17 to 2022-23, the number of male admissions has been consistently above 70% of total admissions. Despite progress from 22% in 2016-17 to 29% in 2022-23, female admissions have remained below 30% each year during the same period.
