Over 24,000 CS seats unfilled as self-financed colleges struggle to attract studentsGujarat’s engineering colleges are facing a major enrolment challenge, with more than 40,000 seats remaining vacant across the state. Computer Science (CS), traditionally one of the most popular engineering disciplines, has emerged as the worst-affected branch, with 24,438 seats unfilled.
According to admission data, only 44,341 of the 84,385 sanctioned seats across government, grant-in-aid, autonomous and self-financed engineering colleges were filled, leaving 40,044 seats vacant.Computer Science colleges filled just 23,640 of their 48,078 seats. Mechanical Engineering recorded 4,775 vacant seats, while Civil Engineering had 3,547 seats unfilled.The data reveals a significant difference in enrolment between government and self-financed institutions. Government engineering colleges filled 9,294 of their 9,385 seats, achieving nearly 99% occupancy.
In contrast, self-financed colleges filled only 33,484 of their 73,032 seats, leaving 39,548 seats vacant.Specialised courses such as Biotechnology, Aerospace, Food Technology and Agricultural Engineering also reported considerable vacancies in private institutions, highlighting the difficulties colleges face in attracting students across various disciplines.
The figures point to growing challenges in Gujarat’s engineering education sector. While government colleges continue to attract students, self-financed institutions are struggling to fill their sanctioned seats.
The trend raises concerns about changing student preferences, the demand for specific engineering branches and the long-term sustainability of expanding engineering education without a corresponding increase in enrolment.