New Delhi: Around 179 professional colleges — engineering and business schools — closed down in India in the academic session 2020-21. This was spurred by tough employment situation, dwindling demand and restricted mobility of students and teachers owing to COVID-19 pandemic in the country and beyond.
Going by released data from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on Monday, the number of shut downs this year is the highest in nine years and double the number it was in the last academic session.
If these many closures weren’t enough, as many as 134 other institutions didn’t seek approval for batches in 2020 citing disruption in education sector.
“There are multiple challenges in the education sector this year. The job environment is tough, the pandemic has restricted mobility and the incomes of students’ families have gone down, delaying their fee-paying capability,” said Vee Technologies’ chief executive Chocko Valliappa. Valliappa is also vice-chairman of a leading Tamil Nadu private institution, Sona College of Engineering.
According to AICTE, almost 70,000 seats were affected in these technical schools following closure of courses and subsequent reduction in intake by 762 institutions.