Huge vacancies in professional and self-financing courses across the state in 2021-22 were revealed in a recent report by the Bombay University and College Teachers’ Union (BUCTU). The vacant seats reflect the fact that more students from across the state continue to stray from these courses, the authors of the report pointed out. The BUCTU report, however, says that despite this, compared to traditional courses, there is a rise in enrolment in the professional courses across the state.

According to the BUCTU’s report, more than 31 per cent of seats in first-year diploma engineering courses were vacant, as against the total intake capacity in the state, while 36 per cent seats in first-year graduate level or degree engineering courses were vacant. In the case of engineering faculty, enrolment increased from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Enrolment at the diploma level is up 5.9 per cent, while enrolment at the graduate level is up 16.6 per cent. However, a huge number of vacant seats were still seen in both diploma as well as degree courses. At present, 50,550 seats in degree level of engineering remain vacant.