BTech Courses: AI, computer science fuel enrolment boom to 5-year high, but may soon kill jobs, say experts

BTech Admissions: Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal witnessed the highest enrolment rate in engineering and technology courses in 2024-25 – with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) reporting intake at a five-year high of 75% across the country. However, academics warn that this boom – driven mostly by students flocking to computer science and allied courses across engineering colleges – may collapse within the next two-three years as artificial intelligence eliminates most jobs in these very fields.

“With so much demand for these new-age technology jobs and the onset of AI, there won't be any jobs left in computer science in the next two to three years,” said Partha Pratim Roy, general secretary, Jadavpur University Teachers Association. Roy is a professor of physics and also teaches engineering students.

“We can already see the trends in the last two years with high unemployment rates in the country. All the students running after these new trends, will face problems with employment, which will also directly impact enrolments in the long-run,” he added.

The all India enrolment rate has increased gradually – from over 53% to 75% between 2020-21 to 2024-25. But mechanical and civil engineering has seen a decline in enrolments from 2022-23 onwards. States like Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal have also seen a higher enrolment rate well above the national average of 75%.

Enrolment rate is calculated from seat intake and total enrolment in a year.

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BTech Courses: AICTE model curriculum

In 2023, AICTE lifted the five-year moratorium on new engineering colleges in India after seeing improved enrolment in core engineering branches. The next year, the regulator reported a five-year high in BTech enrolments.

However, to address industry requirements and increase enrolments in core branches, AICTE has since 2023, formulated model curriculums with major and minor specialisation in data science and new-age technology courses for civil, mechanical, computer science, electrical, and others.

While engineering colleges have witnessed a shift in placements through these model curriculums, enrolment in core branches remains a concern for many institutes.

In the heart of Bengaluru, the IT hub of India, 50% of civil engineering seats have remained vacant for the past two-three years, said Nagaraj B Patil, associate professor, computer science and engineering, Government Sri Krishnarajendra Silver Jubilee Technological Institute, Bengaluru, while speaking to Careers360.

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BTech Courses: Increasing enrolment

While many engineering colleges have revised their curriculum according to new-age technology and model curriculum, some are witnessing a rise in enrolments even in core branches including mechanical and civil engineering.

Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai, in 2024-25 and 2025-26 recorded a 100% enrolment in all its branches, including core branches, said director Sachin Kore. “Colleges which have tuned their syllabus as per latest technological trends and are making their students industry-ready are witnessing an increase in enrolments even in core engineering branches,” added Sandeep Muralidhar Joshi, principal, Pillai College of Engineering, New Panvel, Maharashtra.

Currently, most academics attribute the high engineering enrolment rate to computer science and allied sciences. Joshi said due to demand for computer and IT related courses, students who wish to go for computer sciences get a seat either in Maharashtra or in any other part of India.

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The table below shows the all India engineering enrolment rate from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Over the five years, enrolment increased by 21.34 percentage points with highest in 2024-25. Data shows that since 2022-23, the enrolment rate has improved, remained stagnant in 2023-24 and increased further in 2024-25.

BTech Courses: All India enrolment from 2020-25

Roy noted that the increase in enrolments is not just due to computer and allied branches but because of an increasing interest in other branches, such as electronics and instrumentation with specialisation in AI, machine learning, internet of things (IoT), data science and others.

Engineering Enrolment: Maharashtra, Odisha on top

Odisha and Maharashtra had the highest fill rate of 94.23% and 93.36 %, respectively, for engineering courses in 2024-25, followed by West Bengal and Karnataka with 87.43% and 80.47%, respectively. In terms of five-year average, all these four states have witnessed the highest jump since 2020-21.

General Engineering Enrolments (2020-25)

Source: AICTE

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Delhi are well above the national enrolment.

Civil, Mechanical Engineering: Lowest enrolment

Tapas Chakraborty, vice-chancellor, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), Kolkata, found that students currently are running after the buzzword of AI, ML and other new-age technology which is directly affecting core engineering subjects enrolments. However, Bengal is yet to implement the model curriculum’s minor specialisations across its engineering colleges, aiming to introduce it from next academic year.

However, at the state level, both Jadavpur and MAKAUT aim to spread awareness about the relevance of core engineering branches after introducing minor degree courses from 2026. “From next year with the introduction of minor degrees, we hope to increase awareness among students about civil and mechanical engineering, which are highly lucrative courses,” he stated.

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Most academics believe that students are turning away from civil and mechanical engineering courses because they aspire for higher salaries without field work. Joshi stated that core engineering programmes like civil and mechanical are “sweating courses”.

He added: “In current times, students want to work in air-conditioned rooms and not in fields, which is what these core branch jobs demand. Also, the salary of the computer science and allied branches companies are much higher than core companies.”

However, in West Bengal, the situation in core branches is bad due to lack of job opportunities in civil and mechanical. “The main issue of Bengal is that there are no manufacturing industries where students could get placements after mechanical and civil engineering. Hence, there are no jobs in mechanical and civil engineering in the state,” said Chakraborty.