Scenario
of Technical Education: A Sweet and Sour Story in Maharashtra
Dr. Adinath Bhujaballi Kuchanur1,
Dr. Ravi S. Joshi2
1Professor, Department of Master of Business
Administration (MBA), JSMP’s Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, S. No: 80, Tathawade, Pune-411033 Maharashtra, India
2Director, JSPM’s Group of Institutes, S. No: 80, Tathawade, Pune-411033 Maharashtra, India
*Corresponding Author E-mail: adinathbk@gmail.com;
joshijspm@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Technical
education plays a very significant role in the overall economic development of
our country by providing qualified, skilled and trained man power to various
sectors to quench their thirst for optimal utilization of underlying resources
and for achieving the desired goals. In India, technical education has
witnessed exponential growth over the years with the establishment of several
Universities including Private Universities, Autonomous institutions, Private
institutions etc. Among other states in the country, Maharashtra is well known
state where enormous institutions are set up to impart quality technical
education to meet the market demand for qualified, skilled and trained man
power since the state has become a hub for India Inc and Multinational
Companies.
This paper
analyses the present scenario of technical education. The main objective of
this paper is to assess the scenario of technical education in India and
Maharashtra and to briefly discuss the roles played by various regulators of
technical education. One of the hypotheses is that admissions in technical
educational institutions in Maharashtra have plunged during the study period.
This is an analytical study based on the secondary data which is analyzed with
the help of percentages and the hypotheses are tested with the help of
Chi-square test at 1% level of significance. The linear trend line-the least
square method is also employed to project the trends in admissions and vacant
seats from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20. The results of the study
reveal that number of and intake capacity in institutions in India have been
increased from the academic year 2006-07 to 2012-13. On the other hand, the
same trend also continued in Maharashtra but the admissions have plunged from
the academic year 2005-06 to 2014-15. The projected admissions and vacant seats
will be 29.33% and 70.67% respectively of the intake capacity in Maharashtra
during the next five academic years. To conclude, the admissions in technical
educational institutions in Maharashtra have plunged during the study period
and will further move downwardly in the next five years. Hence, it is suggested
that institutions shall not be permitted to increase their intake capacity till
they ensure 100% admissions out of their sanctioned intake capacity during the
next three consecutive academic years.
KEY WORDS: All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE), Sate Board of Technical Education (SBTE), Affiliating Universities,
Technical Educational Institutions, Intake Capacity, Admissions and Vacant
Seats, etc.
The reforms of 1991-92 led to a
revolution in Indian educational system with the introduction of advanced and
most sought after technical education. The educational sector that is
considered to be the third eye of the India economy has opened the doors for
setting up of many technical institutions to impart education in technical
field. The technical education can help to bridge the gap between the developed
and developing nations like India where the brain drain remains a key concern1.
Technical educational institutions have mushroomed across the country
especially in the states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, etc. Some big cities like Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Hyderabad and Chennai led down a red carpet to students coming from other parts
of India2. These cities not only offer technical education but they
also house a large number of industries such as automobile, information and
technology, pharmaceutical and service oriented activities. These commercial
activities need skilled, trained and experienced man power to economically
manage their resources and generate maximum return on investment (ROI) for
their perpetual survival in the long run. The technocrats having pursued
education in higher and technical courses like MBA, MCA, Engineering, Pharmacy,
etc play a very significant role in the efficient management of all commercial
activities provided the quality in technical education is ensured3.
2. A GLIMPSE OF
TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN INDIA:
In India,
the beginning of technical education dates back to 19th century when
the major policies stressing the
importance of technical education were initiated in the pre-independence. Since
then, the following significant developments took place 4:
i.
Constitution of Technical Education Committee of Central Advisory
Board of Education, 1943.
ii.
Preparation of Sergeant Report, 1944.
iii. Formation of All India Council
for Technical Education (AICTE) in 1945 and
iv. Statutory powers given by
Parliament to AICTE in 1987.
In this context, technical education includes education in MBA and
Computer Applications, Engineering, Architecture, Pharmacy and Hotel
Management.
3.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
The following objectives have been set for the present study
1.
To discuss in brief the roles played by the regulatory authorities
of technical educational institutions;
2.
To assess the scenario of technical education in India from the
academic year 2006-07 to 2012-13;
3.
To analyze the number of, intake capacity, admissions and vacant
seats in technical educational institutions in Maharashtra from the academic
year 2005-06 to 2014-15;
4. To offer measures for improving
admissions in technical educational institutions.
4.
HYPOTHESES:
The following hypotheses are framed for the present study.
1. The admissions in technical
educational institutions in Maharashtra have plunged during the study period;
2. The vacant seats in technical
educational institutions in Maharashtra have not plunged during the study
period;
3. The admissions will move
downwards and vacant seats will move upwards in Maharashtra during the next
five academic years.
5.
METHODOLOGY
This is an
analytical study based mainly on the secondary data and it reports on the
present scenario of technical education in India as well as Maharashtra. The
data for assessing the scenario of technical education in India was compiled
from AICTE Approval Process Hand Book for the academic year 2013-14. The period
covered for this purpose is seven years i.e. from the academic year 2006-07 to
2012-13. On the other hand, the data for analyzing the scenario of technical
education in Maharashtra was compiled from the data received from the
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai, Maharashtra under the Right
To Information (R. T. I.) Act, 2005. The period covered for this purpose is ten
years i.e. from the academic year 2005-06 to 2014-15. The data has been
analyzed with help of percentages. The Chi-square test is used for testing the
hypotheses at 1% level of significance (LOS) whereas the linear-the least
square method is deployed for the projection of trends in admissions and vacant
seats to total intake capacity during the next five years i.e. from 2015-16 to
2019-20. It is worthy to note that all technical educational institutions are
collectively called only as institutions henceforth in this study for the
convenience purpose.
Formula Chi-square (Ψ2)
test =
Where Oi = Observed frequency of ith
event Ei
= Expected frequency of ith event
The critical
or Table value at 1% LOS for degree of freedom of 9 (10-1) is 21.67
Hypothesis
testing criteria is as follows
Accept a
hypothesis, if the computed value < the critical or table value
Reject a
hypothesis, if the computed value > the critical or table value
Formula of linear trend line-the least square method
Y = a + bX,
Where, Y = The projected admissions or vacant seats for the period
from 2015-16 to 2019-20 value, X =
The deviation in time period, a and b are the constants.
Therefore, a = ΣY/N = b = ΣXY/X 2
6. Regulators of technical education at
National, State and University level
Technical
education like other streams is subjected to the regulation by the various
regulators who prescribe several norms while granting approval and affiliation
to institutions. They play crucial roles in ensuring quality in technical
education5. Their roles can be classified at three levels namely
National level, State level and University level. Hence, it is worthy to
briefly understand their roles in ensuring quality in technical education
Maharashtra.
A. All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE): A national level regulator
Quality in
technical education can be ensured when the academic amenities required for the
purpose are in place because the effective delivery of quality in technical
education seeks after many inputs. Hence, AICTE, the national level regulator,
plays various roles such as i) Setting norms, ii)
Conducting mandatory and surprise visits, iii) Issuing the letters of new
approval and extension of approval, etc. In other words, AICTE plays a big boss
role as far as the delivery of quality in technical education is
concerned.
B. Directorate of Technical Education
(DTE), Mumbai: A state level regulator
DTE has a
jurisdiction over institutions established in Maharashtra and it frames norms
to be observed by them. DTE performs various functions in order to ensure
quality in technical education in the state. Hence, DTE has been assigned the
job of taking care of technical education across Maharashtra and it discharges
various duties like i) Granting approval, ii)
Conducting common entrance test (CET) and iii) Allocating seats through common
admission process (CAP): Further DTE is expected to effectively discharge so
that technical institutions in Maharashtra can get support in admitting
aspirants and delivering quality in technical education for producing skilled
and trained man power for the economy as a whole.
C. University: A jurisdiction level
regulator
A
University is established by a state government under the provisions of UGC
Act, 1956 keeping in mind requirements of a particular jurisdiction within its
geographical area. So set up university starts functioning after all necessary
arrangements are made for the smooth running of its academic activities and
monitoring and controlling the affiliated institutions. There are many
universities in Maharashtra state and they play various roles such as i) Granting affiliation, ii) Designing syllabus, iii)
Conducting examination, iv) Awarding degrees, etc. Therefore, a university not
only plays various roles as mentioned above in delivering quality in technical
education but it also promotes technical education by way of organizing various
conferences/seminars/workshops for technical graduates and teachers to enhance
their skills for ensuring quality in learning as well as teaching technical
subjects.
The preceding discussion reveals that there are various agencies
to regulate technical education. They play various roles at three different
levels on their way to ensure quality in technical education. However, they are
not able to deliver the justice for which they are in existence.
7. Scenario of technical education in
India from 2006-07 to 2012-13
In a
developing country like India, growth is prominent and inevitable as well for
sustainability. At the same time, trends can also prevail and vary from time to
time. Therefore, it is thought to have a glimpse of the latest status of
technical education in India in terms of growth. All technical institutions are
approved by AICTE.
i. Growth of institutions:
India is a developing country and there
are many issues associated with education sector including technical education
sector that contributes a lion share to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Notwithstanding, the technical education sector has witnessed a tremendous
growth over a period of time. The information of the number of technical
institutions in India from 2006-07 to 2012-13 is presented in Table 16.
Table 1: Growth in institutions
|
Sl No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architecture |
Hotel Management |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2006-07 |
1511 |
1132 |
1003 |
665 |
116 |
64 |
4491 |
|
2 |
2007-08 |
1668 |
1149 |
1017 |
854 |
116 |
81 |
4885 |
|
3 |
2008-09 |
2388 |
1523 |
1095 |
1021 |
116 |
87 |
6230 |
|
4 |
2009-10 |
2972 |
1940 |
1169 |
1081 |
106 |
93 |
7361 |
|
5 |
2010-11 |
3222 |
2262 |
1198 |
1114 |
108 |
100 |
8004 |
|
6 |
2011-12 |
3393 |
2385 |
1228 |
1137 |
116 |
102 |
8361 |
|
7 |
2012-13 |
5854 |
4053 |
1979 |
1485 |
155 |
138 |
13664 |
Source:
Compiled from AICTE Approval Process Hand Book for academic year 2013-14
It may be inferred from Table 1 that the
overall number of technical institutions has grown by 9173 (i.e. from 4491 to
13664) over the years. Analysis indicates that Engineering institutions have
jumped up by 4343 (i.e. from 1511 to 5854) whereas MBA institutions have also gone
up by 2921 (i.e. from 1132 to 4053), MCA institutions by 976 (i.e. from 1003 to
1979) and Pharmacy institutions by 820 (i.e. from 665 to 1485) during the study
period. In other words, Engineering, MBA, MCA and Pharmacy institutions are
rather more in numbers than other disciplines. Therefore, it can be established
that Engineering, MBA, MCA and Pharmacy disciplines are acknowledged as the
most sought after institutions offering technical education in India.
ii. Growth of intake capacity: Amidst
several intricacies pertaining to development of technical education in India,
the intake capacity in institutions has excelled during the study period.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a look at the growth of intake capacity in
institutions. The information regarding the growth of intake capacity in
institutions from 2006-07 to 2012-13 is showcased in Table 27.
Table 2 portrays intake capacity in
AICTE approved technical institutions in India from 2006-07 to 2012-13. The
results of analysis reveal that intake capacity in Engineering institutions has
scored more by 1210990 (i.e. from 550986 to 1761976), MBA by 290304 (i.e. from
94704 to 385008), Pharmacy by 82135 (i.e. from 39517 to 121652) and that of MCA
by 43895 (i.e. from 56805 to 100700) during the same period. Engineering and
MBA courses are not only the frontrunners in the field of technical education
but they are also more in demand as compared to other disciplines of technical
education in India.
In
addition, it is also thought to have a glimpse of the latest status of programwise technical education scenario in India. For this
purpose, the programwise analysis in terms of
percentage is also done to understand as to which program dominates the entire
technical education system in academic year 2012-13. The information relating
to the percentage of programwise intake capacity to
AICTE approved total intake capacity in India during the academic year 2012-13
is presented in Table 3.
Table 3
presents AICTE approved programwise number of
institutions and their intake capacity in India during 2012-13. The
discipline-wise analysis reveals that among all the technical disciplines
approved by AICTE, Engineering discipline has the highest number of
institutions (i.e. 42.84%) with intake capacity of 73.93. This is followed by
other disciplines such as MBA institutions (i.e. 29.66%) with intake capacity
of 16.15% and MCA institutions (i.e. 14.48%) with intake capacity of 4.22% and
Pharmacy institutions (i.e. 10.87%) with intake capacity of 5.10%. Hence, it
can be concluded that AICTE approved institutions and their intake capacity in
Engineering and MBA disciplines have attracted more aspirants for technical
education in the country.
Table 2: Growth of intake capacity in institutions
|
Sl. No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architecture |
Hotel Management |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2006-07 |
550986 |
94704 |
56805 |
39517 |
4543 |
4242 |
750797 |
|
2 |
2007-08 |
653290 |
121867 |
70513 |
52334 |
4543 |
5275 |
907822 |
|
3 |
2008-09 |
841018 |
149555 |
73995 |
64211 |
4543 |
5794 |
1139116 |
|
4 |
2009-10 |
1071896 |
179561 |
78293 |
68537 |
4133 |
6387 |
1408807 |
|
5 |
2010-11 |
1314594 |
277811 |
87216 |
98746 |
4991 |
7393 |
1790751 |
|
6 |
2011-12 |
1485894 |
352571 |
92216 |
102746 |
5491 |
7693 |
2046611 |
|
7 |
2012-13 |
1761976 |
385008 |
100700 |
121652 |
5996 |
8401 |
2383733 |
Source:
Compiled from AICTE Approval Process Hand Book for academic year 2013-14
Table 3: Percentage of programwise
number of institutions and their intake capacity in 2012-13
|
Sr. No |
Course |
Program wise technical institutions |
Percentage (%) |
Program wise Intake Capacity |
Percentage (%) |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
i |
Engineering |
5854 |
42.84 |
1761976 |
73.93 |
|
ii |
MBA |
4053 |
29.66 |
385008 |
16.15 |
|
iii |
MCA |
1979 |
14.48 |
100700 |
4.22 |
|
iv |
Pharmacy |
1485 |
10.87 |
121652 |
5.1 |
|
v |
Architecture |
155 |
1.13 |
5996 |
0.25 |
|
vi |
Hotel Management |
138 |
1.01 |
8401 |
0.35 |
|
Total |
13664 |
100.00 |
2383733 |
100 |
|
Source: Compiled from AICTE Approval
Process Hand Book for academic year 2013-14
Table 4: Scenario of institutions in Maharashtra
|
Sl. No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architect |
HMCT |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
354 |
103 |
55 |
230 |
42 |
9 |
793 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
382 |
116 |
61 |
319 |
47 |
9 |
934 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
393 |
139 |
73 |
347 |
52 |
28 |
1032 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
505 |
206 |
97 |
369 |
53 |
28 |
1258 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
630 |
291 |
114 |
451 |
53 |
28 |
1567 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
748 |
366 |
127 |
416 |
55 |
26 |
1738 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
863 |
408 |
141 |
445 |
60 |
25 |
1942 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
1007 |
416 |
145 |
462 |
69 |
26 |
2125 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
1074 |
516 |
159 |
463 |
75 |
23 |
2310 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
1168 |
471 |
146 |
472 |
70 |
24 |
2351 |
|
Average |
712 |
303 |
112 |
397 |
58 |
23 |
1605 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005.
Table 5: Scenario of intake
capacity in institutions in Maharashtra
|
Sl. No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architect |
HMCT |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
94195 |
7114 |
2898 |
12657 |
1799 |
470 |
119133 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
97290 |
8385 |
3333 |
17639 |
2257 |
470 |
129374 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
107376 |
10425 |
4203 |
19393 |
2457 |
1590 |
145444 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
142127 |
15225 |
5908 |
20595 |
2507 |
1590 |
187952 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
183397 |
21105 |
6988 |
27061 |
2447 |
1590 |
242588 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
253035 |
34995 |
8383 |
23347 |
2627 |
1530 |
323917 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
284669 |
42165 |
10875 |
25300 |
3027 |
1480 |
367516 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
322339 |
45705 |
13470 |
27375 |
3797 |
1504 |
414190 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
345343 |
57392 |
14345 |
27490 |
4193 |
1298 |
450061 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
365926 |
53458 |
13482 |
26771 |
4757 |
1358 |
465752 |
|
Average |
219570 |
29597 |
8389 |
22763 |
2987 |
1288 |
284593 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005
8. Scenario of technical education in
Maharashtra from 2005-06 to 2014-15.
The
technical education in Maharashtra state has witnessed a tremendous growth in
terms of number of and intake capacity in technical institutions over a period
of time. The growth has varied year-on-year basis. Therefore, it is thought to
understand such growth of technical education during the study period. The
information pertaining to the growth of institutions in Maharashtra from
2005-06 to 2014-15 is presented in Table 48.
Table 4 portrays that the number of institutions in Maharashtra
has increased by 1558 i.e. from 793 (2005-06) to 2351 (2014-15) with an average
of 1605 institutions during the study period. The institutions offering
engineering, pharmacy and MBA courses are the frontrunners in the race.
Table 5 showcases that the intake capacity in institutions has
scored more by 346619 seats i.e. from 119133 (2005-06) to 465752 (2014-15) with
an average intake capacity of 284593 seats. Among them, the intake capacity of
engineering, MBA and pharmacy has shot up during the entire study period.
Table 6 shows that the admissions to the technical courses in
Maharashtra have jumped up by 167510 seats i.e. 106326 (2005-06) to 273836
(2014-15) with the average admissions of 213073 seats during the study period.
The admissions to engineering, MBA and pharmacy courses have been greater as
compared to the rest of the courses.
Table 6: Scenario of admissions
in technical institutions in Maharashtra
|
Sl. No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architect |
HMCT |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
84133 |
6876 |
2517 |
11000 |
1418 |
382 |
106326 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
96368 |
8332 |
3271 |
16608 |
2028 |
376 |
126983 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
96125 |
10240 |
3970 |
14279 |
830 |
541 |
125985 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
129178 |
15142 |
5289 |
14692 |
806 |
620 |
165727 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
172667 |
20649 |
5369 |
15114 |
1252 |
613 |
215664 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
200830 |
28644 |
7453 |
18290 |
1597 |
453 |
257267 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
217932 |
29089 |
10185 |
20589 |
1641 |
681 |
280117 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
223368 |
32825 |
9289 |
21766 |
1962 |
673 |
289883 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
231704 |
27961 |
4413 |
21768 |
2557 |
535 |
288938 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
213926 |
27151 |
3485 |
24786 |
3862 |
626 |
273836 |
|
Average |
166623 |
20691 |
5524 |
17889 |
1795 |
550 |
213073 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005
Table 7: Scenario of vacant
seats in institutions in Maharashtra
|
Sl. No |
Year |
Engineering |
MBA |
MCA |
Pharmacy |
Architect |
HMCT |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
10062 |
238 |
381 |
1657 |
381 |
88 |
12807 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
922 |
53 |
62 |
1031 |
229 |
94 |
2391 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
11251 |
185 |
233 |
5114 |
1627 |
1049 |
19459 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
12949 |
83 |
619 |
5903 |
1701 |
970 |
22225 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
10730 |
456 |
1619 |
11947 |
1195 |
977 |
26924 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
52205 |
6351 |
930 |
5057 |
1030 |
1077 |
66650 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
66737 |
13076 |
690 |
4711 |
1386 |
799 |
87399 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
98971 |
12880 |
4181 |
5609 |
1835 |
831 |
124307 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
113639 |
29431 |
9932 |
5722 |
1636 |
763 |
161123 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
152000 |
26307 |
9997 |
1985 |
895 |
732 |
191916 |
|
Average |
52947 |
8906 |
2864 |
4874 |
1192 |
738 |
71520 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005
Table 8: Scenario of technical education in
Maharashtra during 2014-15
|
Sr. No |
Program/ Course |
Institutions |
Status of approved intake capacity |
Status of admission |
Status of vacancy |
||||
|
No |
% share |
Capacity |
% share |
Admitted students |
% share |
Vacant seats |
% share |
||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
i |
Engineering |
1168 |
49.68 |
365926 |
78.57 |
213926 |
78.12 |
152000 |
79.20 |
|
ii |
Management |
471 |
20.03 |
53458 |
11.48 |
27151 |
9.92 |
26307 |
13.71 |
|
iii |
Pharmacy |
472 |
20.08 |
26771 |
5.75 |
24786 |
9.05 |
1985 |
1.03 |
|
iv |
MCA |
146 |
6.21 |
13482 |
2.89 |
3485 |
1.27 |
9997 |
5.21 |
|
v |
Architecture |
70 |
2.98 |
4757 |
1.02 |
3862 |
1.41 |
895 |
0.47 |
|
vi |
Hotel Management |
24 |
1.02 |
1358 |
0.29 |
626 |
0.23 |
732 |
0.38 |
|
Total |
2351 |
100.00 |
465752 |
100.00 |
273836 |
100.00 |
191916 |
100.00 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005.
From Table 7, it may be inferred that the vacant seats have
skyrocketed from 12807 vacant seats (2005-06) to 191916 vacant seats (2014-15)
with the average vacant seats of 71520 during ten years period. The analysis
reveals that engineering, MBA and pharmacy courses have topped the list with more
seats left vacant during the study period.
Technical education plays a significant role in developing
Maharashtra state by providing technical experts such as engineers, managers,
architects, pharmacists, etc to its various constituent sectors. Being an
integral part, technical education contributes its own share to state’s GDP
every financial year. Therefore, it is necessary to have a glimpse of scenario
of technical education during 2014-15. The information is portrayed in Table 8.
Table 8
portrays the number of technical institutions, their intake capacity, status of
admissions and vacant seats and their percentage share of each stream during
the academic year 2014-15. The program-wise analysis indicates that the number
of technical institutions (i.e. 1168) offering courses in Engineering is the
highest (i.e. 49.68%) with intake capacity of 78.57%, admissions of 78.12% and
vacant seats of 79.20% in the overall technical courses during the academic
year 2014-15. This is followed by MBA, Pharmacy, MCA, and Architecture courses
whereas Hotel Management course is the least. Hence, it can be concluded that
Engineering courses are the most sought after technical course if compared with
other streams whereas Hotel Management course is the least preferred one in the
state during the same year.
Maharashtra
has become a global hub for education with establishment of technical
institutions. Among the major cities in the state, Pune
“The Oxford of East” has excelled in
offering technical education over the decades. Hence, many trusts and/or
societies have been formed and registered with the competent authorities. Such
trusts and/or societies are fully devoted to offer the quality technical
education to all especially to the downtrodden ones. Therefore, it is essential
to look into for which Maharashtra is known to be a hub of technical education
in the country. But, the technical institutions in the state have been
encountering the poor turnout of admission seekers. Consequently, many seats
have fallen vacant during 2014-15. The information pertaining to intake
capacity, admissions and vacant seats and percentage of admissions and vacant
seats to intake capacity in Maharashtra during 2014-15 is presented in Table
9.
Table 9: Scenario of admissions and vacant
seats and their percentage to intake
capacity in Maharashtra during Academic Year 2014-15
|
Sr. No |
Program/ Course |
Intake capacity |
Admission status |
Vacancy |
||
|
Seats |
% |
Seats |
% |
|||
|
i |
Pharmacy |
26771 |
24786 |
92.59 |
1985 |
7.41 |
|
ii |
Architecture |
4757 |
3862 |
58.46 |
895 |
41.54 |
|
iii |
Engineering |
365926 |
213926 |
81.19 |
152000 |
18.81 |
|
iv |
MBA |
53458 |
27151 |
50.79 |
26307 |
49.21 |
|
v |
Hotel Management |
1358 |
626 |
25.85 |
732 |
74.15 |
|
vi |
MCA |
13482 |
3485 |
46.10 |
9997 |
53.90 |
|
Average |
465752 |
273836 |
58.79 |
191916 |
41.21 |
|
Source: Data received from
Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Mumbai under R. T. I. Act, 2005.
Table 9
reveals that in Maharashtra, the average admissions and vacant seats were
58.79% and 41.21% respectively of the total intake capacity in all technical
courses during 2014-15. The course-wise analysis reveals that 92.59% of the
intake capacity of pharmacy courses was admitted and 7.41% seats were vacant
whereas 25.85% of the intake capacity of MCA course was admitted and 74.15%
seats were vacant. In other words, admissions of pharmacy courses were the
highest and that of MCA course were the least during the study period.
Therefore, it can be summarized that the technical education would lose its
charm in the ensuing academic years as long as AICTE and DTE nod for giving
away a blind green signal to new technical institutions and increase in intake
but neglecting the sour taste of technical education in the state.
9. A Climax of sweet-and-sour story
It is
apparent that economic cycle influences on all the sectors-agriculture, industry
and service as well. Hence, education sector, being a constituent of service
sector also passes though four phases such as boom, peak, recession and
depression. In other words, the 2008 recession climax had influenced on all the
sectors of the Indian economy. Similarly, the technical education, like others
has now been under the severe influence of the 2008 recession-Tsunami.
Therefore, the recession climax has been prevailing in the field of technical
education in Maharashtra since the academic year 2008-09. Ironically, the
intake capacity in institutions in the state has been skyrocketing
unprecedentedly whereas the admissions have been hit hard during the study
period.
9.1 Admissions and vacant seats: The law of demand and supply
is also perfectly applicable to the technical education sector as well. The
higher are the number of institutions and their intake capacity the higher are
the vacant seats and vice versa. It is, therefore, obvious that the unsolicited
increase in the number of institutions and their intake capacity can definitely
create a vacuum for vacant seats. More
interestingly, the market demand plays a decisive role as far as the
employability of technical graduates is concerned and it is subsequently
reflected in terms of admissions and vacant seats. A glimpse of admissions and
vacant seats in institutions in the state is showcased in Table 10.
It may be
inferred from Table 10 that the admissions have plunged from 98.25% (2006-07)
to 58.79% (2014-15) whereas the vacant seats have been steeply moving upwards
in the state from mere 1.85% (2006-07) to 41.21% (2014-15).
Hypothesis testing
The
following hypotheses are framed and tested with the help of chi-square test at
1% LOS. The critical value for the degree of freedom of 9 (i.e.10-1) is 21.67.
Hypothesis
=
HO
= “Admissions in institutions in
Maharashtra have plunged during the
study period”
HA
= “Admissions in institutions in
Maharashtra have not plunged during the study
period”
Table 10: Percentage of admissions and vacant
seats to intake capacity in institutions
in Maharashtra
|
Sl. No |
Academic year |
Actual admissions (%) |
Vacant seats (%) |
Intake Capacity (%) |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
89.25 |
10.75 |
100 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
98.15 |
1.85 |
100 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
86.62 |
13.38 |
100 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
88.18 |
11.82 |
100 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
88.90 |
11.10 |
100 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
79.42 |
20.58 |
100 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
76.22 |
23.78 |
100 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
69.99 |
30.01 |
100 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
64.20 |
35.80 |
100 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
58.79 |
41.21 |
100 |
Source: Compiled from Table 5, 6, and 7
Graph 1: Percentage of admissions and
vacant seats to intake capacity in institutions in Maharashtra
Table 11: Chi-square test at 1% LOS for
admissions
|
Sl. no |
Season year |
Oi |
Ei |
Oi-Ei |
(Oi-Ei)2 |
(Oi-Ei)2/Ei |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
89.25 |
79.97 |
9.28 |
86.07 |
1.08 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
98.15 |
79.97 |
18.18 |
330.49 |
4.13 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
86.62 |
79.97 |
6.65 |
44.20 |
0.55 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
88.18 |
79.97 |
8.20 |
67.29 |
0.84 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
88.90 |
79.97 |
8.93 |
79.73 |
1.00 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
79.42 |
79.97 |
(0.55) |
0.30 |
0.00 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
76.22 |
79.97 |
(3.75) |
14.09 |
0.18 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
69.99 |
79.97 |
(9.98) |
99.69 |
1.25 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
64.20 |
79.97 |
(15.77) |
248.78 |
3.11 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
58.79 |
79.97 |
(21.18) |
448.51 |
5.61 |
|
Chi-square (Ψ2 Test) |
17.75 |
|||||
Sources: Compiled from Table 10
Table 11
presents the results of chi-square test at 1% LOS. The critical value is 21.67
whereas the computed value is 17.75. Hence, the null hypothesis (HO)
“Admissions in institutions in
Maharashtra have plunged during the study period” is accepted and the
alternative hypothesis (HA) is rejected.
Thus, the
hypothesis testing has apparently proved that the sweet story has turned out to
be sour one in Maharashtra during the last one decade.
Vacant seats
The vacant
seats are generally caused by the excessive intake capacity in institutions as
the economic reforms have kept the doors open for all to enter into technical
educational sector and establish institutions to make quick bucks. However, the
liberalized policies have become the root-cause for unhealthy competition among
such institutions. In fact, they are engaged in mud-throwing stunt of increasing
unwarranted intake capacity and of prey to the vacant seats. Thus, the
excessive intake capacity in the state has vomited the pollution of unwarranted
intake capacity and vacant seats as well. In simple terms, too much is too bad.
Hypothesis testing
The
following hypotheses are tested with the help of Chi-square test at 1% LOS. The
critical value for degree of freedom of 9 (i.e. 10-1) is 21.67.
Hypothesis
=
HO
= “Vacant seats in institutions in
Maharashtra have plunged during the
study period”
HA
= “Vacant seats in institutions in
Maharashtra have not plunged during the study
period”
\Table 12: Chi-square test at 1% LOS for
vacant seats
|
Sl. no |
Academic year |
Oi |
Ei |
Oi-Ei |
(Oi-Ei)2 |
(Oi-Ei)2/Ei |
|
1 |
2005-06 |
10.75 |
20.03 |
(9.28) |
86.07 |
4.30 |
|
2 |
2006-07 |
1.85 |
20.03 |
(18.18) |
330.49 |
16.50 |
|
3 |
2007-08 |
13.38 |
20.03 |
(6.65) |
44.20 |
2.21 |
|
4 |
2008-09 |
11.82 |
20.03 |
(8.20) |
67.29 |
3.36 |
|
5 |
2009-10 |
11.10 |
20.03 |
(8.93) |
79.73 |
3.98 |
|
6 |
2010-11 |
20.58 |
20.03 |
0.55 |
0.30 |
0.02 |
|
7 |
2011-12 |
23.78 |
20.03 |
3.75 |
14.09 |
0.70 |
|
8 |
2012-13 |
30.01 |
20.03 |
9.98 |
99.69 |
4.98 |
|
9 |
2013-14 |
35.80 |
20.03 |
15.77 |
248.78 |
12.42 |
|
10 |
2014-15 |
41.21 |
20.03 |
21.18 |
448.51 |
22.39 |
|
Chi-square (Ψ2 Test) |
70.86 |
|||||
Sources: Compiled from Table 10
Table 13;
Projection of scenario of admissions in institutions in Maharashtra from the
academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20
|
Sl. no |
Particulars |
Academic year |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
||
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
||
|
1 |
X |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
2 |
Y=a+bX |
42.83 |
39.46 |
36.08 |
32.71 |
29.33 |
Source: Compiled
from Table 10
Note:
ΣY = 799.72, N = 10, a = ΣY/N = 79.97 b = ΣXY/X 2 = -3.376,
Table 12
portrays the results of Chi-square test at 1% LOS. The critical value is 21.67
whereas the computed value is 70.86. Hence, the alternative hypothesis (HA)
“Vacant seats in institutions in
Maharashtra have not plunged during the study period” is accepted and the null hypothesis (HO) is rejected.
Thus, the
hypothesis testing has again acknowledged that the sweet story has turned out
to be sour ones in Maharashtra during the last one decade.
9.2 Projection of admissions and vacant
seats
The basic
premise is that whatever happens today it always happens for the better tomorrow.
However, the tomorrow never comes today and so the future is unknown to us. The
essentiality of the present study is to peep into what may likely happen
tomorrow or day after tomorrow in the field of technical education. Hence, the
efforts are made to understand the scenario of the technical education in terms
of admissions and vacant seats in institutions in Maharashtra from the academic
year 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Hypothesis
=
HO
= “Admissions in institutions in
Maharashtra will further plunge from the academic year 2015-16 to
2019-20”
HA
= “Admissions in institutions in
Maharashtra will not further plunge from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20”
It may be
inferred from Table 13 that the trends in admissions will further move
downwards i.e. from 42.83% to 29.33% from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Therefore, the null hypothesis (HO) that “Admissions in institutions in Maharashtra will further plunge from the
academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20” is accepted and alternative hypothesis (HA)
is rejected.
Hypothesis
=
HO
= “Vacant seats in institutions in
Maharashtra will plunge from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20”
HA
= “Vacant seats in institutions in
Maharashtra will not plunge from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20”
Table 14
indicates that the trends in vacant seats will further move upwards i.e. from
57.17% to 70.67% from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20. Hence, the
alternative hypothesis (HA) that “Vacant seats in institutions in Maharashtra will not plunge from the academic
year 2015-16 to 2019-20” is accepted and null hypothesis (HO) is
rejected.
Table 14: Projection of scenario of vacant
seats in institutions in Maharashtra from the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20
|
Sl. no |
Particulars |
Academic year |
||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
||
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
||
|
1 |
X |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
2 |
Y=a+bX |
57.17 |
60.54 |
63.92 |
67.29 |
70.67 |
Sources: Compiled from Table 10
Note: ΣY = 200.28, N = 10, a
= ΣY/N = 20.03 b = ΣXY/X
2 = 3.376,
Graph 2: Projection
of scenario of admissions and vacant seats in institutions in Maharashtra from
the academic year 2015-16 to 2019-20
The
foregone analysis of the scenario of the technical education in Maharashtra has
revealed that there is a very tuff time ahead for the institutions in the state
in the years to come. The reasons could be numerous but some of them have
apparently trapped the technical education in Maharashtra. Therefore, there are
various contemporary issues which are haunting the institutions in Maharashtra
and so is a blow for ensuring quality technical education. Further, the
technical education has been paralyzed owing to the host of contemporary issues
such as greediness for monetary gains, poor industry-institute interaction, less need-based specialization, rigidity
in updating curriculum, etc that influence on imparting quality technical
education. Thus, the rate of employability of technical graduates has tumbled
to a great extent. Various committees were set up to look into issues
associated with education including technical education. Notwithstanding, the
recommendations made by such committees remained on pieces of paper rather than
their proper implementations over the years.
10. Future of technical
education
Gone are
the days when educational institutions were considered to be service
oriented-organizations. In other words, educational institutions would be
expected to render better service to the society at large without expecting any
profit margin from such holy social service and so treated as non-profit making
organizations. But, these years, the trend has reversed for no institute can
survive in the long run without generating return on investment (ROI) which is
financed out of funds borrowed from banks and financial institutions at higher
rates of interest. Hence, it is evident that whenever any activity is
undertaken, the financial viability is first guaranteed from such activity. It
is in this context that a trust/society which wants to impart technical
education by establishing institution/s in the form of social service should
first ensure that such service is not only of paramount quality but also
fetches a minimum ROI for its perpetual existence over a period of time. But,
contrary to this, a trust/society prefers the exaggerated monetary gains in the
pretext of insuring quality technical education. AICTE is blind enough to
approve new technical institutions or to increase in intake capacity in existing
institutions every academic year without considering the actual requirements
for such approvals and/or increases.
More
importantly, a lust for technical education has been fading in the recent years
owing to fall in the job opportunities for and employability of technical
graduates, opening up of excessive institutions, poor enrollments, etc. On the
other hand, the cost of becoming technical graduate is not affordable to many
brilliant but poor aspirants who live from hand to mouth. Hence, the future for
technical education seems to be gravel-blind.
11. Findings of the study
The
following are the major findings of the present study
i.
The study reveals that institutions have
grown in numbers over the years.
ii.
The analysis indicates that the intake
capacity in engineering and MBA institutions has skyrocketed during the study
period.
iii.
The results show that among all the technical courses approved by
AICTE, Engineering discipline has the highest number of institutions (i.e.
42.84%) with intake capacity of 73.93% and MBA institutions (i.e. 29.66%) with
intake capacity of 16.15% in India during 2012-13.
iv. The study reveals that the
program-wise analysis indicates that the number of technical institutions (i.e.
1074) offering courses in Engineering is the highest (i.e. 43.98%) with intake
capacity of 75.56%, admissions of 78.98% and vacant seats of 69.45% in the
overall technical courses in Maharashtra during the academic year 2014-15.
v. The analysis further shows that
the average admissions were 64.20% and average vacant seats were 35.80% of the
total intake capacity in all technical courses in Maharashtra during 2014-15.
The course-wise analysis reveals that 79.19% of the intake capacity of pharmacy
courses was admitted and 20.81% seats were vacant whereas 41.22% of the intake
capacity in hotel management courses was admitted and 58.80% seats were vacant.
vi. The admissions have plunged and
vacant seats have skyrocketed during the entire study period of the last one
decade.
vii. The projection of the trends in
admissions will further move downwards and the vacant seats will further move
upwards in the next five years i.e. from the academic year 2015-16 to
2019-20.
12. Suggestions offered in this study
Based on
the findings of this paper, the following suitable suggestions are offered with
a view to imparting quality technical education that attracts more aspirants of
and enhances rate of employability.
i. The regulating authorities
namely AICTE, DTE and Universities must ensure that institutions strictly
adhere to all the approval and affiliation norms and academic amenities are in
place.
ii. Institutions are to be given a
free hand to take care of their day-to-day functioning.
iii. The institutions shall not be
permitted to increase their intake capacity till they ensure 100% admissions out
of their sanctioned intake capacity during the next three consecutive academic
years.
iv. There should at least at
present scenario be no granting of new or extension of approvals and
affiliation for new technical institutions or increase in intake till the
number of aspirants for technical education improves.
v. Any institutions having excess
intake (if any) must either reduce their intake capacity or make heroic efforts
to fill up all sanctioned seats in order to maintain financial viability (ROI)
in running their educational activities.
vi. Technical institutions must
necessarily ensure that they are able to prepare competent and employable
manpower with paramount competencies and skills to meet the new challenges.
vii. Fraudulent or institutions
lacking the basic minimum requirements for providing quality technical
education are to be directed either to comply with the norms or must be closed
permanently.
viii. Technocrats are required to
generate employment opportunities for others rather than becoming
jobseekers.
13. CONCLUSIONS:
The preceding discussion throws light on the present scenario and
trends in growth of technical institutions and their intake capacity over a
period. The Analysis reveals that the number of technical institutions and
their intake capacity have witnessed a tremendous growth in the country and
Maharashtra State during the entire study period. The regulators namely AICTE,
SBTE and Universities play very significant roles in ensuring quality in
technical education. However, the technical education has been hit hard by
various contemporary issues such as i) unwarranted
interference of management of institutions, ii) poorly equipped regulators,
iii) inadequate e-governance and infrastructure facilities, iv) poor
industry-institute interaction, v) deficiency in highly qualified and
experienced faculty, iv) unproductive research work, etc. In fact, these issues
are unprecedentedly haunting on the quality technical education in India and
Maharashtra State. So are they a blow for ensuring quality technical
education.
Hence, it is clear that technical education in India has to go a long way in
making technical graduates more
employable across the globe provided that institutions give a heed to
delivering quality technical education with the help of effective course
delivery, qualified and experienced faculty, training and development,
industry-institute interaction, quality research work, e-governance and
corporate governance, etc. In addition, the teaching methods should
focus more deeply on leadership, team work, communication skills and on how to
prepare managers to play a critical result oriented role in terms of changing
scenario for the betterment. In addition, institution curriculum should zero in
on a holistic development; building ethical values, strengthening the moral
values, managing innovation and prioritizing the art of governance as the
approach to management. It should also promote social accountability and
environmental responsibility and inculcate the skills enabling managers to take
up business, community and environmental issues at all levels. In other words,
institutions must be innovative, flexible and responsive to the dictates of the
changing environment.
In a nutshell, the admissions in technical educational
institutions in Maharashtra have witnessed a nosedive as a result of recession
climax from academic year 2008-09 and its subsequent effects. Hence, it can be
concluded that technical education in Maharashtra is heading from dawn to dusk
and has to go a long way to prove its metal in the years to come.
14. REFERENCES:
1.
INAE Report to the Parliamentary
Committee, “Salient Issues in Higher Technical Education”, December, 2005.
2.
Sanjeev K and
Dash M. K. (2011) “Management Education
in India: Trends, Issues and Implications” Research Journal of International Studies, January, 2011, Issue-18,
pp- 16 to 26.
3.
Kuchanur A. B. (2014) “Effective Educational Management: A Yardstick for Imparting Quality
Education” International Journal of
Management and Social Science, Vol. 2. Issue 12, December, pp 214-224. ISSN:
2321-1784.
4.
Gupta P, Chopra K. L. and Suri S K. (1999) “Technical Education in Independent India
1947-1997”, AICTE Publication,
5.
Shweta and Manoj Kumar (2011) “Management Education in India: Issues &
Challenges” Journal of Management and
Public Policy, Vol. 3, No.
1, July-December 2011, pp. 5-14.
6.
“AICTE Approval Process Hand Book for
Academic Year 2013-14” published by All India Council for Technical Education,
New Delhi.
7.
“AICTE Approval Process Hand Book for
Academic Year 2013-14” published by All India Council for Technical Education,
New Delhi.
8.
Director of Technical Education (DTE),
Mumbai (2013) under R. T. I. Act, 2005.
Received on 20.01.2015 Modified on 29.01.2015
Accepted on 15.02.2015 © A&V Publication all right reserved
Asian J. Management; 6(2): April-June,
2015 page 79-90
DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2015.00013.X