45.29 per cent of engineering graduates got jobs through campus placement in academic year 2017-18, according to union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in a response to a question yesterday in Lok Sabha. He said that out of 7,92,970 students, 3,59,193 were placed through campus replacement in the year 2017-18.     

According to the minister, the figures didn’t include students which got job directly, those which are self-employed, and those which attempted higher studies. Presenting a separate data for National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), the minister said that 17,946 students were placed from a total of total 23,298 graduates in the year 2018-19.     

Speaking about the significance of progress of economy in employment generation, the minister said, “The employment of engineering graduates is dependent on economic growth and increased employment opportunities and hence keeps varying. With Government of India targeting a high growth path, the employment opportunities shall increase.”

The minister also informed to Lok Sabha that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will not teach conventional programme with less employment prospects from 2020-21 and will only encourage emerging fields like Artificial Intelligence and Block-chain technology. Answering supplementary questions during the question hour, HRD minister added that government wishes to train engineering students to make them a part of ‘Make in India’ campaign.